A Groot Point
by Alverrann
Summary: "Guardians of the Galaxy? Ha! You cannot even guard yourselves!" -Groot is happy to have his team back, but his relief is short lived when they crash on a planet that's in the middle of an odd war. Then his friends are captured, and it's up to Groot and his limited speech to make peace between two hardly intelligible species before someone else goes crazy. "Oh man, we are flarged."
1. Giving Tree

**Please note: This story is second in a series, so if you haven't read Drax the Guardian, it won't be as awesome. (So go read it if you want the whole ... eh … _experience_.)**

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of these beautiful characters, only what they're doing (and their actions are still pretty much theirs, since I'm tryin' ta keep 'em in character here). **

**I also own the random stuff on the side, but it's not really all that important, is it? **

* * *

Groot was happy.

It had almost been a week since their disastrous mission for the Nova Corps, and the Guardians of the Galaxy were still healing. Yet they had survived, and this pleased the Flora Colossus to no end.

He wasn't happy all the time, however. To say that Groot had been mad when he had discovered the extent of his friend's injuries–how Peter had been whipped, or how Gamora had broken her leg–would be putting it lightly.

Groot was _furious_.

He was also very thankful to Drax for rescuing them against all odds, despite the fact that the Kylosian had barely survived himself. That left only Rocket and Groot uninjured out of everyone on the team, and so they were the ones fixing the ship.

Groot had his own problems in the form of an implant that, courtesy of the Collector, now resided in his right hand. Peter had one too, and Rocket had been beside himself when they had discovered the intricate connection between the device and its wearer's nervous system.

It would take a careful surgery to remove the offending piece of machinery.

The implant still hurt, too. If Groot got too excited, it would send a painful shock up his arm. It was reminiscent to how one felt after banging their wrist on something very hard, since the throbbing continued for minutes afterwards, and the entire area of the implant was sensitive and sore.

Groot felt bad for Quill–whose implant was embedded right at the nape of his neck–but he also lamented not being to better help Rocket repair the ship as he tried to avoid using his right hand.

It had become a sort of ritual for them to convene in the common room when it was time to re-bandage and treat recent wounds. Gamora's cybernetic implants had been helping her leg heal, and she would stretch it while Drax treated Peter's back and feet after a bath (much to the human's embarrassment).

The solid Kylosian would also take care of his own wounds, while Groot and Rocket found something to fix close by, to be supportive.

Rocket denied that it had anything to do with support (though he normally did, and Groot was certain that it was a lie), grumbling all the while about how useless his injured teammates were, and how whiny Quill was being.

Groot just took it as another sign of his love, since his small friend didn't bother justifying his actions if he didn't care what anyone thought of him. He said as much to the bounty hunter, and got a snort in reply, "Ya big sap."

The fear that Groot felt for his team and their current position, however, hadn't gone away since they'd finally escaped, and it was with disquiet that Groot admitted to himself that his team was still very vulnerable.

It was a problem that he had been ruminating on for the last few days, uncertain of how he could remedy it, yet knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had done _something_.

The last few days had been a nightmare in more ways than one, and Groot didn't feel comfortable leaving his team, even if it _was_ just to rest. But it had been when he was working on the navigation console the night before that he had recognized a way to get around the problem.

He was going to implement his plan today, happy to know that he would be able to keep his family safe.

"Stop smilin' like that." Rocket broke him out of his thoughts with a disgusted tone of voice. "Yer makin' me uncomfortable."

"I'm just happy." He replied easily, and his small friend rolled his eyes before going back to his work.

It was in this moment that Groot saw his opportunity, and he quickly began making his gifts. One for Gamora and one for Drax. He grew one for Peter too, but the fragile Terran had fallen asleep on the table, not for the first time.

Plants were amazing things, Groot knew, and being a versatile species of plant himself, he was able to grow almost anything. From Terran tomatoes (Peter had cried when Groot had done that) to Ragalberries (Drax had cried?), the Flora Colossus had the ability to morph his cells to match those of any other plant life.

Of course, he had to have a little knowledge about the plant life, first, and that's what he had been doing almost all morning in preparation for this moment. Studying the hazenwhorl flower. Three wristbands were nestled in the palm of his large left hand, a soft white flower growing on top of them in a swirl pattern.

"Gamora!" He called to her before she could leave, and she turned her head in surprise, her eyebrows lifting as he held her gift out with a grin. The assassin took her small woven wristband with wide eyes, and then her lips curved into a fond smile. "You have to wear it all the time." Groot said, knowing that it wouldn't work if she didn't have it with her.

"The hell?" Rocket muttered while the Zehoberei woman slipped it over her wrist, adjusting it so that the flower was facing up.

"Thanks, Groot."

Groot smiled to know that she was comfortable showing her soft side to him, turning to give the Destroyer his.

"I will wear it proudly." Drax put his on as well, and Groot was relieved that he didn't think it something foolish. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the Kylosian had been a father.

Rocket stayed silent until both of them had left, and for this Groot was grateful, though the small bounty hunter piped up as soon as they were gone, while Groot began putting Peter's on his wrist. "Mind tellin' me why ya suddenly decided to make us all jewelry?"

Groot didn't answer, merely picking Star-Lord up gently, then slowly lumbering towards the human's room.

"_Groot_." Rocket followed him, and his voice was knowing. "What do those flowers do?"

The Flora Colossus kept his silence until Peter was arranged comfortably–if still shirtless–on his stomach. Groot frowned when he realized that the human would not be able to sleep in his hammock again until his back had healed.

"Hey!" Something sharp jabbed him in the leg, and he looked down to see Rocket with his arms folded and one claw extended. "What do the flowers do?"

Groot sighed, knowing that there wasn't really a way around it, since his friend would know if he lied. That didn't mean that he had to tell the whole truth, though. If he did, Rocket would never wear the one Groot was going to make for him. "They'll tell me if the wearer is in trouble."

Rocket was stayed silent, studying the woven band on Peter's wrist for a long moment before looking up at the Flora Colossus. "You _tagged_ 'em?"

"I did not _tag_ them!" Groot furrowed his brow at the insinuation, his gift from the Collector sending a small shock up his arm.

"Yeah, _sure_. Whatever you say." The small mammal started to walk away with a shaking head, and Groot decided that he would give Rocket his bracelet later. "You gonna help me fix the ship up, or just stand there like an idiot?" Groot sighed, quietly following to help his friend continue their work.

Minutes later they were in the engine room, and the bounty hunter was muttering angrily to himself as he headed straight towards the worst of the damage. Groot knew that his friend had already been working almost 5 days straight to get the ship up and running, and it showed in the amount of machinery strewn about the room.

The Milano had taken quite a beating from the explosion, and Rocket said as much when he tore out their ruined propulsion unit.

"Are we going to have to go outside again to fix it?" Groot felt it prudent to ask, and his friend nodded with a growl.

"Frikkin' hunk a _junk_!" He kicked the gutted console, then scowled at the pain it caused him. "Always fallin' apart."

"It saved us from that explosion." Groot reminded the small mammal, knowing that most of the anger was on behalf of their injured teammates. Even though Rocket would hardly ever admit it, Groot knew that the small bounty hunter had a deep-seated love and respect for the Milano.

"Yeah, an' now it's even trashier than _before_."

It wasn't a new conversation for either of them, and so Groot didn't deign to answer as he volunteered. "I can fix some of the outside stuff this time. You can stay in here and keep working."

"That's delicate work out there, bud." Rocket sighed after considering it for a moment. "I'll head out to see if I can jury-rig somethin' for the scanners. You stay here an' see if you can boot up the comm system. Most-a those wires are toast."

"Okay, but don't stay out for too long." Groot warned him, debating with himself on giving the bracelet now, and finally giving in. "A- … and take this with you."

"You gonna tag me too?" The bounty hunter seemed skeptical, but finally acquiesced with a roll of his eyes. "_Fine_. But if it starts itching or somethin', I'm takin' it off."

"I'll accept that." Groot had expected nothing less, and Rocket quickly donned his gear before heading out, leaving the Flora Colossus alone.

Well … not quite alone. Groot smiled as he opened his palm, showing his own hazenwhorl flower near the bottom of his left wrist. He shook it gently, blowing on it a little before staying very still to watch as the little white spores came out.

They floated gently before him, and he knew that they were attempting to connect with their sister flowers. Groot could feel the other flowers spewing out their own spores, and waited patiently.

It took a moment before four scenes were projected from the glowing pink dots, and he easily recognized Drax's room, neat and mostly barren, Gamora's room, military and orderly, and then Quill's room, an absolute disaster.

More importantly, he could see his three friends, each sleeping soundly in their beds, none of them seeing the twinkling lights above them.

The last scene was of the outer hall, and he could see Rocket disappearing around the corner on his way out the airlock.

Groot liked the hazenwhorl flower, knowing that this wouldn't be the last time that he used it as the spores very slowly faded from before him. This time, if anything happened to his friends, he would know exactly how to find them, and exactly what was going on.

That made Groot happy.

* * *

**So now Groot is a stalker. I apologize for nothing. **

**Lemme know what you think of being able to understand what Groot is saying. I find it interesting to delve into his character like I'm doing for this fic, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts.**

**Of course, I can't have you forgetting that for every review I get, the next chapter will come out that much more quickly. ;) **

**(I guess I'm really not above bribery or begging, huh?) **

**Anyway, I promise that though these first chapters will be a little slow, the next ones will hopefully knock your socks off with action and whumpage!**


	2. Colorful Personalities

Rocket had been right about the communication system. It was almost completely fried, and Groot wondered why the explosion had damaged it so much if they hadn't been using it when they were hit.

Well, perhaps they had been, since Drax had still been floating above the ship at that time, and they had all been attempting to get him to come back in.

Groot shuddered as he carefully removed the wires that were damaged beyond repair. It had been a very narrow escape, and the thought of it all still scared him more than he could ever express.

He was still rearranging the system over an hour later when his flower perked up, tugging at its stem excitedly. It sensed one of its sisters nearby. Groot therefore wasn't particularly surprised when Gamora walked in, easing herself to the floor beside him with a soft grunt of pain. "Hey, Groot."

"How are you feeling?" He looked at her, then looked at her leg, allowing his worry to infuse his tone and fill his expression.

"My leg is … coming along." She shrugged nonchalantly, but smiled at him right after. "I should be good to go in three weeks."

"A lot can happen in three weeks." Groot had long since become comfortable voicing his real thoughts and feelings, though he noticed that it was sometimes difficult for the rest of the Guardians to do. Perhaps it was because they knew that they would be understood, where Groot's words were sometimes ignored or misinterpreted.

Groot liked to think that he was just honest that way, and so felt no shame in admitting his fear that they could be attacked again while they were so vulnerable.

"Don't worry about me, Groot." Gamora's smile was beautiful. "Even with my leg like this, I could take down half the galaxy."

Groot laughed, feeling the tension drain from his body. "I'm sure you could!"

"I take it that Rocket is outside again?" The Zehoberei looked at the mess of wires that were piled around the Flora Colossus, and then scooted forward, wordlessly joining Groot in his work as he nodded.

"Yes. He's outside."

A green hand lay itself on his arm, and it comforted Groot to see the hazenwhorl flower decorating its wrist. "I'm sure he's fine, Groot."

"I know." He responded, knowing from his own flower's reactions that she was right.

For the next while, they both worked in a companionable silence on the communications array. Groot noted with interest that Gamora's flower had stark swirls, the petals twirling up at sharp angles–completely at odds with his own vine-like hazenwhorl.

Her flower also seemed to be slowly turning a light purple at the tips. Groot glanced at his own with curiosity, noticing almost immediately that it was turning a soft yellow.

Curious.

With Gamora the work went twice as fast, and they were just finishing when Rocket stormed back in, annoyance written clearly all over his face.

"I never thought this would come outta my mouth, but this ship looks better _inside_ than outside!"

Gamora smiled and Groot laughed. Rocket only scowled, coming farther in to begin angrily adjusting the coolant system with his tiny screwdriver, then he glared at it before retrieving the bucket that was needed to drain the liquid inside..

"I'm not even kiddin'! The sensors are totally fried, an' so is the shielding! We needa get parts as soon as possible, or we're flarged!"

"We weren't flarged already?" Groot turned with the others to look at Peter, whose voice was fairly dripping with exhaustion even though he'd clearly just awoken. He seemed to have managed to get dressed, though.

"About _time_ ya woke up!" Rocket's happy tone was at odds with his harsh words, and Groot knew that the small bounty hunter was glad to have another pair of hands to help. "You've been sleepin' all day! Like a frikkin' humie log!"

"_That_ was in bad taste." Groot reproached him, and Rocket waved him off impatiently as he called the Terran over.

"Eh, quit whinin', Groot. Pete, come help me get the coolant system to stop leakin'! No point in gettin the engines back online just so they can blow us up!"

"I thought we got that fixed two days ago." Peter wandered over to take his own look, while Rocket pulled out a bundle of wires from the control panel, jerking it open to glare.

"Yeah, well somethin' didn't go over well, 'cause it didn't take." Rocket was stopped in his work draining it when the Terran grabbed his arm, pointing at his wristband.

"Whoa, hey. You've got one too?"

"Groot's idea." Rocket grumbled, pulling his paw away with a huff. Groot waited for him to explain their purpose, tensing slightly in preparation for the retribution of his team. Yet the small bounty hunter didn't say anything more, and Gamora patted Groot's arm consolingly.

"_We like them_, Groot."

"Yeah, friendship bracelets are totally in!" Peter rolled up his sleeve a little to reveal his own, and Groot immediately zeroed in on the blue-green tips of his twisting flower. To Groot, it looked musical … almost like it was dancing. "Nothin' manlier than jewelry. Now I can be Mr. T!"

"You can be Mr. _Useless_ if ya don't start_ helpin' _here!"

That spurred the human over to Rocket, where they both quickly delved into the now empty coolant system. Peter removed his jacket first, donning gloves since the liquid was bound to get everywhere, and then the two pilots were muttering and working together seamlessly.

Gamora rolled her eyes, giving Groot a sidelong look that the Flora Colossus could only describe as fond. "And suddenly they get along."

"Only when they want to." Groot agreed, smiling because he knew that the thief and the bounty hunter got along quite well.

"Peter?" Gamora called after a few more moments, and the Terran called back from inside.

"Yeah?"

"Is Drax awake?"

"He's makin' dinner." Came the reply, followed quickly by a curse from Rocket.

"An' you're _lettin'_ 'im?!"

The smell of coolant liquid was beginning to permeate and hang in the air of the engine room, and Peter's answer was indignant. "He's just grilling meat! You know he does the best with that!"

"No creepy bug casserole? Hey, hold that there, I think I found the leak."

"I told him no bugs were allowed. Like this?"

"Ah-huh. Now don't move."

"That _stinks_." Groot complained from his place on the floor next to Gamora, and she wrinkled her nose.

"Is there any way you two could avoid getting that everywhere?"

"Hold it still, Pete … _almoooost_ … _Got it_!" Rocket and Peter emerged from the guts of their work victorious, and Gamora sighed.

"Peter, you realize you'll need another bath now, right?"

The Terran's face fell and Rocket's dirty paw clapped him on the shoulder apologetically. "It don't smell _that_ bad."

"It smells terrible!" Groot frowned, and the small bounty hunter rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well do _you_ want the ship ta blow up?"

"Both of you go clean up before it makes you sick." Gamora shook her head as Peter spared a glance for Rocket.

"How much longer do you think it'll be before we can start flyin' the Milano again?"

The bounty hunter was pulling his gloves off and cleaning his stained jumpsuit with a small rag, but paused to contemplate it. Groot noticed that both of his friends had taken special care to remove their flowers before working with the dangerous liquid, and he smiled while Rocket answered. "I think we could start flyin' 'er _now_, Pete, but we'd be doin' it blind. Communications and sensors are still down, an' our scanners won't do us much good alone."

"I can come out later to help you with the sensors if you want." The Terran wiped his own clothes off before replacing his hazenwhorl wristband as he walked out.

"I dunno how much more you could do for 'em. We're lookin' at complete replacement here." Rocket followed Peter out, and their voices faded away.

That left Groot with Gamora, who was staring at the puddles of coolant liquid that had been left on the floor with fondness and irritation. After a long moment she sighed, shaking her head as she slowly stood up. Groot pushed a branch up behind her to help her keep her balance, and she grabbed a rag. "You can go up to help Drax if you want. I'll finish cleaning up here."

There was a pleading in her voice, and Groot knew that she was asking him to make certain that the Destroyer wasn't fulfilling his name with their dinner.

"I'll make sure it's not just meat on the menu."

"See you up there." Gamora's smile was much easier to catch than it had been one year earlier, and Groot returned it as he walked out.

* * *

**I know, I know. Not much going on right now, but I promised before and I'll reiterate it now. The action will come. ;) **

**Aren't they cute when they work together? It makes me happy, though I doubt it will last too long with the plans I've got in store for them. **

**Lemme know what you think of the bracelets (Sorry, wristbands. That's manlier), It's an idea that I cooked up recently, so I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions for 'em, or ideas where it might be going. **

**'Til next time. **

**-Al**


	3. Meat and Money

Groot was glad to get away from the foul odor of coolant liquid, and even though he wasn't a meat eater himself, the smell of cooking moomba was a welcome change.

"Friend Groot!" Drax raised a knife in greeting, the smile on his face almost as wide as the large slab of meat that he was cooking. "I am making us dinner!"

"It smells good." Groot replied.

"I know you do not eat meat, and so I have mixed some sugar with water for you!" The Kylosian held up a large bowl of water with a triumphant laugh. "It will give you much energy!"

"Maybe _too_ much." Groot agreed, dipping a finger in to taste it. It was delicious and sweet. He knew that he'd perhaps overdone it when he suddenly realized that the water was half gone and Drax was staring at him. He immediately took his finger back out. "Don't tell Rocket."

"Do not fear, tree." Drax nodded knowingly as he took the bowl back. "I will fill it again for you. It is simple enough to prepare."

Groot just nodded, not bothering to try and correct the Destroyer's interpretation of his words. He would just have to remember to drink it fast at dinnertime, before Rocket knew how much sugar was in it.

The water had rejuvenated him on the other hand, and so it was simple to grow a few tomatoes for Peter and some Ragalberries for Drax. The Destroyer fairly glowed with joy when he spotted the large scarlet fruit, and picked it up. "One day I shall make a fine meal with these berries. My wife Hovat often used them to cook."

Groot watched as Drax cut the fruit, then put it on the grill next to the meat in long blue slabs (why was it blue on the inside?). He could see the hazenwhorl on the Kylosian's thick wrist, and its swirling petals and small vines reminded him of the Destroyer's tattoos. They were rounded, but then would take abrupt sharp turns, the tips of the flower turning a blood red.

Groot found the color and shape change of the hazenwhorls fascinating, and wondered what it meant.

Drax did not seem to have noticed, merely turning the meat over on the grill.

"That smells close to being done." Gamora appeared in the doorway, and Drax smiled at her from his place in their tiny kitchen (honestly it was just an extension of the common room).

"It _is_ very close to being done!" He looked beyond her with confusion. "Where are Quill and the rodent?"

"They were fixing the coolant system, and now they're washing up."

"Quill has already had his bath today." Drax frowned. "I was not aware that he planned to have another."

"I don't think he was aware either." Groot said consolingly, while Gamora shook her head with a laugh.

"He didn't plan to get dirty, Drax, and Rocket's helping him. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Groot assisted them both as they cut and readied the meat to be eaten. Groot had never eaten on a plate before becoming a member of the Guardians, and it was Peter that had first pulled them out, insisting that they eat together.

Peter hadn't liked to do it all the time, however, so it had been surprising when Drax and Gamora had begun doing it every day for them a few months earlier. It was as though the two warriors had simultaneously decided that eating together was too important to forget, and now it was an expectation for every dinner.

Groot liked it, as it gave him a good excuse to sit and watch his family (one of his favorite pastimes). He knew that the others liked it as well, even though they would sometimes complain about the arrangement.

Peter and Rocket walked in just as they were finishing, and the small bounty hunter's smile was feral. "Izzat moomba?"

"It is left over from our interruption of the moomba poachers and their illegal business." Drax nodded. "It was a young moomba, and the meat is succulent."

"I don't know if that makes it sound better or worse." Peter lifted a skeptical brow before sitting down on one of the pullout stools (Rocket had installed them after their third month together). "But it smells amazing."

"Hey, I'll take a dead one over a live one any day." Rocket hopped onto his own stool (it was built a little higher than the others) next to Groot (who had no stool. He preferred to stand).

"Haha! Agreed!" Drax cut into his steak with gusto, laughing as he held a speared piece of meat high above them. "Moombas are disgusting and yet delicious creatures!"

"How much meat is left now that we're eating this?" Gamora spoke knowingly, and the Destroyer shrugged as he replied.

"This is the last of it. We will need to restock on food when we reach port."

"Heh. We needa restock on a lot more than meat." Rocket pointed a claw at the Destroyer, dripping juice on the tabletop. "The Milano's barely holdin' together as it is."

"We also need to get those implants removed." Gamora reminded them, slapping Peter's hand away from touching the back of his neck. "That will probably cost us quite a bit if the surgery is as intricate as it seems like it will be."

"Do we have enough for all of those things?" Groot asked, just as Peter spoke up.

"Whoa, whoa whoa! Will we be able to pay for all of this?"

Rocket spared a glance for Groot before turning to Star-Lord. "If Nova Corps pays us for this job, we might be able to get the ship back to normal, an' that's a _big_ maybe."

"If you don't mind being vegetarians for a while, food won't be a problem." Groot offered, and Rocket translated.

"Groot says he'll make us some fruit'n stuff, so we don't gotta worry about food."

"Drax the Destroyer must have meat." Drax frowned, while Gamora gave the Flora Colossus a very grateful look.

"Well … the implants don't hurt _that_ bad, I don't think we have to try an' pull 'em out first thing …" Peter began slowly, and was immediately pinned by the eyes of everyone else at the table.

"They are harmful to you!"

"Peter, what if the Collector escaped with the remote?"

"Quill, those frikkin' implants are gonna be the first thing we take care of." Rocket's voice overrode the other two, his eyes hard. "We dunno what they could do if we leave 'em in there! Don't be dumb!"

"They have already been in there for too long." Gamora agreed, while Drax growled.

"They should never have been administered in the first place."

"But- …" Peter's hand twitched, as though he were going to reach back and touch the implant again, but he didn't.

"First we should fix the ship." Groot agreed with the human, and Rocket glared at him.

"You too?!"

"I just think … I mean, how are we gonna do more jobs for the Nova Corps if the Milano is trashed?" Peter offered, then spoke more earnestly, "And even if the Collector has his remote, how's he gonna activated it from the other end of the galaxy?!"

"We need a way to make more money before we spend it all." Groot nodded.

"I … can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Rocket." Gamora gave Groot and Star-Lord a hard look. "Our highest priority is making sure that neither of you die."

"Even if ya deserve it." Rocket rolled his eyes.

"Or wish it." Drax sounded troubled.

"I don't want to die!" Groot felt slightly offended that the Destroyer had even considered that train of thought.

"It's not like I have a death wish-!" Peter cut himself off, huffing out an irritated stream of air. "I just … I don't wanna get caught out by the RSR, or the Nova Mole, or Korath or somethin' and not have a way for us to escape or defend ourselves!"

The human stood away from the table then, and Groot noted that his flower left a few turquoise spores floating in the air behind it as Peter threw his arms up into the air. He winced in pain as he did so, and Groot knew it was because he had agitated his implant.

"Okay! So yeah, the implants hurt!" He glared at the other guardians, not looking at Groot. "A lot!" His eyes finally met Groot's, and they were sympathetic. "But I'm not dead, and neither is Groot, and we've made a crap-load of powerful enemies in just this past _week_! The last thing we need is to get attacked and not be able to fight back!"

"Peter, calm down …" Gamora warned, obviously having noticed the other twitches of pain that had crossed his face during his small speech, but the Terran wasn't done.

"I just-! I- …" He winced again at another shock, calming down considerably quite suddenly. "I don't want to watch you all get carted off again."

"We need the Milano." Groot nodded at the apparent end of Peter's outburst, and he noted that his other three teammates looked torn.

"Peter …" It was Gamora who braved the silence that had fallen, and her voice was soft. "We're just worried about you."

Star-Lord met the Zehoberei's gaze, and it was a glance filled with such intimacy that Groot didn't feel bad for not having been mentioned. Rocket broke the moment before the Terran could respond,

"Okay! Fine!" His small paws were thrown into the air, mimicking Quill from earlier. His flower immediately caught Groot's eye, and the Flora Colossus was only able to discern its color. Orange. "If you two wanna die, then fine! I don't care! But I'm gonna fix up yer frikkin' ship, Quill, an' as soon as I see the opportunity you two are gonna go get those krutackin' implants _out_, 'cause I ain't payin' for a buncha repairs on _your_ ship!"

"Okay, that's fair." Peter responded, his expression saying that he didn't buy Rocket's apparent apathy in the least.

"Perhaps we could convince the Nova Corps to aid us with the Milano, or even payment for the surgery." Drax mused, his tone implying physical coercion. Rocket and Gamora gave one another a significant look at the suggestion, and Groot knew that they would have no qualms "convincing" anyone.

It was a long moment before Peter nodded, his voice firm and decided. "Then we're agreed. We fix the ship first."

Drax, Gamora and Rocket all shared another look, and then the Zehoberei said, "Then we'll get those implants out."

"Whatever it takes." Drax agreed.

The Terran seemed to think it over for a while, and then nodded. "Okay. Looks like that's all I'm gonna get. I'll take it."

"I'm surprised that they agreed at all." Groot admitted with a smile while Rocket rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of _'stupid humies_.'

The hazenwhorls were content.

* * *

**This chapter was difficult, though re-reading it, I couldn't tell you why. **

**Hmm. **

**I did have a little bit of writers block (and ya'know how annoying it is when you KNOW where you're going, but for some reason you have no idea how to get there?), which I got through by listening to old music and wasting time between sentences, but hey. **

**I made it. ;)**

**Again, I'm sorry at how ... not active it is ... but I swear, the action is coming (I mean, it's ACTION. What else would it be doing? Sitting there?! Hahahaha- sorry). **

**Also, out of curiosity, a lot of people have commented on their favorite characters, and I would like to hear from everyone. Who is your favorite Guardian (Yondu and Mantis can count), and why are they your favorite? What drew you to them? ... **

**I hope to hear your answers, and I might letcha know mine on the next one.**


	4. Crashing Colors

They finished dinner uneventfully (which was a miracle, all things considered), and Drax and Gamora began to clean it up. Groot helped. "Wealp." Rocket slipped off of his stool, wiping his dirty paws on his jumpsuit. "You wanna fix the sensors, Pete, now's the time."

"Right." The Terran shoved the last piece of meat into his mouth, licking off his fingers before wiping them on his pants as well. Gamora rolled her eyes at their lack of hygiene, and Groot laughed.

"Avoiding cleaning the dishes?"

"Got no clue what you're talkin' about." Rocket stalked away, grabbing his toolbox while Peter trailed behind him, still chewing through his last bite.

"Yeah right." Groot shook his head while they walked towards the door, and Peter's tentative voice floated back.

"So … when do you think we could get the sound systems up and running?"

The last thing that Groot heard from them before the door slid closed was Rocket's exasperated voice, "Pete, I _swear_ if you don't shut up about your music, I'll break it for _good_!"

"I do not think Star-Lord would allow that." Drax commented as he picked up his dirty dish.

"I wouldn't either." Gamora responded while helping wipe off the table where Rocket had dripped juice. "It would be a _disaster_."

"Yes. Quill would be inconsolable." Drax nodded.

"I miss the music, too." Groot understood why Peter kept asking about it, and honestly it was amazing that he hadn't been pestering them constantly.

On the other hand, they were still recovering from a lot of things, and perhaps the human was too tired to bother with it (Groot doubted it). Or maybe he was just waiting for a better moment (which was far more likely).

Gamora merely smiled as she finished cleaning up, nodding towards Drax and Groot before leaving the room, and Groot noted that her flower was perked up and happy, reflecting its wearer's mood.

"Friend Groot." Drax spoke quietly after she'd gone, cleansing the last plate in his hands as he spoke. "I have noticed that this flower you gave me is changing colors. Why is it doing that?"

Groot frowned at him, not sure why the Kylosian always asked such questions if he wouldn't be able to understand the answer. "Red suits you." He said at last, and Drax gave him a discerning look.

"Gamora has a purple flower. Quill's is blue. Rocket's has turned orange. They are all different."

Groot shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with the questions. Why did the Kylosian suddenly care so much? "I've never used them before. I don't know why they're doing it."

Drax seemed to sense Groot's uneasiness at this line of questioning, and he put a firm hand on the upper arm of the Flora Colossus. "I only ask you these things because the petals of my flower have changed shape as well as color, and they now form symbols in my native tongue."

"Really?" Groot looked down at the flower when the Destroyer proffered it to him. He could see that the petals were almost completely red, and that they curved sharply, much like his tattoos.

"This one." Drax pointed at two of the curling vine-like petals, wrapping around and criss-crossing one another. "It stands for loss."

"Loss?" Groot could not fathom what that was supposed to mean, but before he could think on it, Drax continued, his finger touching each petal separately.

"This one stands for perseverance, the next one joy, and the next one purpose. This one is for family."

"I … that's actually really cool." Groot stared at it in wonder.

"I thank you for your gift, friend Groot." The Destroyer's tone was more serious than normal (which was _very_ serious). "I watched the color and shape change as we ate. I think that it may have changed swiftly because it was in close proximity to the other flowers. Perhaps they are family as well."

"When I looked them up, they didn't say anything about this." Groot admitted, tempted to look at his own flower, but uncertain of how the Kylosian would react.

"I saw the rodent's changing as mine did."

Groot decided to just let him see it, lifting up his left hand and showing his own swirling hazenwhorl, now seeming to glow a soft yellow color. "Wow." He breathed quietly, and Drax unknowingly repeated his own words back to him.

"It suits you, friend."

"Yeah, but mine doesn't mean anything." Groot continued to stare at his flower and its twisting petals.

"They are a symbol of our friendship." The Destroyer clapped him on the arm, and the Flora Colossus whipped his head to better look at his friend. Had Drax just answered him? "I thank you for this gift. I will treasure it always."

"I'm glad you like it." Groot sometimes wondered if the others perhaps understood him better than he had originally thought.

The Kylosian merely nodded, drying his hands before walking towards the door, apparently done with talk of emotions. "I am going to sharpen my knives. If I am needed, I will be in my quarters." Then he was gone.

Groot considered what had just transpired, and tried to recall all of the things that he had learned about the hazenwhorl from his research. It was tied to thoughts and emotions, it allowed the wearer to see through the spores of its sister flowers … Groot smiled, knowing that you could only see through the spores if you were wishing to see the other person while the lights floated in front of you.

He was certain that if it were not so, his teammates would have certainly discovered this attribute in their flowers already. Groot shook his wrist, allowing the now yellow spores to burst into the air before him, waiting patiently to see the result.

The first flower that responded was Gamora's, and he saw her in her room, working diligently on one of her cybernetics. Her head came up, her eyes widening at the spores that floated before her. "Wha- …" She appeared to be in awe, and Groot smiled.

Peter's spores came next, and created a slightly blue-green screen before the Flora Colossus. The point of view was skewed, showing things from Peter's wrist, and Groot supposed that it made sense. The spores were trapped within the human's translucent body shield.

Rocket's looked much the same, though the screen was orange. Drax came last, and the Destroyer was sharpening his knives, just as he had promised. His head came up, staring with consternation at the spores that for him must have been a bright red.

For one heart-stopping moment, it appeared that the Kylosian was looking right at him.

Then Drax hand waved through the spores, ruining the screen on his end while Gamora continued staring at hers in wonder. Groot could have perhaps been imagining things, but her eyes seemed to be shining.

Groot felt a little bad, and he followed Drax's example, waving his hand through the spores to disperse them. Perhaps he should tell the rest of the Guardians what the flowers really did, and then let _them_ decide if they wanted to wear them or not.

He just … he didn't want to see them all get attacked or taken away again without being able to follow or find them.

In his mind, the Flora Colossus was attempting to decide on a course of action, trying to justify his perhaps possessive techniques with his need and desire to be useful to his team.

Groot never reached a decision though, since the Milano chose that moment to shudder under his feet, groaning alarmingly. "What was that?" He called out, even though he was certain that no one was around to hear or answer (if they even understood).

The only answer he got was another groan from the ship, and it jerked under his feet, slamming him onto the ground quite violently. Drax ran into the room, giving him a look of pure urgency. "What is happening?"

"Good question, I don't know!" Groot lurched upright once more, dragging himself as quickly as he could move towards the bridge.

"Groot?! Drax?!" Gamora's voice came from the hall. "What's going on?!"

The Milano was quivering violently underneath him, and the Flora Colossus found it difficult to keep his footing.

"We do not know." Drax was following Groot, and Gamora gasped, fear and realization infusing her tone.

"Are Peter and Rocket still outside?!"

"I believe that they are."

The shuddering increased.

"_What_?!"

Groot made it onto the bridge, and stumbled forward to look at their cracked window. The sight he saw made his sap run cold. "_We're crashing_!"

"What is it? What do you see?" Drax was at his shoulder in an instant, but then he nodded. "Ah, I see as well. We are going to crash into that purple planet."

"_What_ planet?" Gamora came up behind them as well, and from somewhere below, an angry voice called.

"TURN IT ON, GROOT! TURN ON THE FLARKIN' ENGINE!"

"It's still not ready!" Groot called back, just as Rocket scrambled into the room on all fours.

"IT'S READY _ENOUGH_!"

The bounty hunter was in his seat on the bridge, snarling while the Milano began shaking as though it would come apart. Gamora and Drax followed his example, and the ship jerked, landing Groot on the floor once again.

A loud crash came from below, and a Peter's voice immediately followed. "I'm okay!"

"Why are we going to hit a planet?" Drax sounded confused.

"We didn't _plan_ it, ya moron!" The engine roared to life, sounding only marginally better than it had the last time. Groot still didn't think it was ready, but Rocket jerked the controls, turning the ship away from the purple ball that was slowly growing before them (now behind them).

"Where did it come from?" Gamora asked, and Peter answered from behind.

"Hey, we were just passing it, and-"

"And it started _pullin' us in_!" The thrusters turned on, and for a moment, Groot was certain that they were going to explode when the ship began jerking from the force of its propellants. "Ain't no planet that size has a frikkin' gravity field this big!"

"The planet is pulling us in?" Drax sounded even more confused.

"Yeah, Drax, but it shouldn't be able to." Quill fell into his own seat, opening his monitor as Groot snaked into the chair behind him. "Can we get away?"

"_I'm_ _tryin'_!"

"We're moving backwards!" Gamora's knuckles were turning white on her armrests.

"Ya'know, I could have probably put all power into our thrusters except that it would kill us since _we don't have a back-up life support system anymore_!" Peter's voice rose as the ship accelerated, moving backwards at an alarming speed, despite the thrusters (to be fair, they were still very damaged).

"NO ONE LIKES A KNOW-IT-ALL, QUILL!"

"Kettle, meet pot!"

"_THAT MAKES NO SENSE_!"

Groot wished he could see how close they were to the planet, but the sensors and scanners were still down, and so he closed his eyes, wondering if this was it. Peter continued working madly at the monitor in front of him, and the Flora Colossus could see him pulling up the information bank on their ship.

What was he doing?!

"If this planet wishes to consume us, let us face it like _true_ warriors!" Drax shouted, and Groot worried that he was going to unbuckle himself to stand up. Luckily, he didn't.

"THAT WOULD JUST MAKE US GO EVEN FASTER!" Spittle flew from Rocket's mouth as he turned to glare at Drax.

"Maybe we could use our own momentum!" Gamora latched onto Drax's idea, hope lighting her eyes. "We could slingshot around the planet!"

Rocket's wild eyes turned to her, and he opened his mouth to say something that Groot was certain would be scathing. He was never given the chance, however, when Peter suddenly took control of the Milano, jerking it back around.

Groot shouted in alarm and dismay when he saw the planet looming over them, and Rocket put his paws to his head in panic. "What are you _doing_?! You're gonna kill us all! No way we can do a slingshot maneuver this close!"

With the planet so near, Groot could see holes all over its surface through the hazy purple atmosphere. If they hadn't been about to crash into it, he would have probably thought it was pretty. Now he just thought that for being the last thing he was going to see, it was pretty _ugly_.

"I looked up the planet on the computer!" Peter yelled. "It's a mining planet! It's fulla more holes and tunnels than swiss cheese!"

"Then we will go _through_ it!" Drax cheered, while Gamora closed her eyes and Rocket shrieked.

"THAT'S NOT EVEN POSSIBLE!"

They were careening towards the planet at what seemed to be an incalculable speed, and Peter took them towards the biggest hole. Groot began considering growing big enough to protect his entire team, or perhaps preserve some of the ship, but he knew that it was too late as they hurtled into the large cavern.

The next few minutes were nerve wracking, filled with shouting and darkness. The Milano lit the way before them, and Peter began navigating the tunnel. Rocket had calmed down enough to start helping, leaping out of his seat to fix things that were still broken while clinging onto whatever was closest to keep from being thrown around the bridge, "_Flarkin' … krutackers … death wish _…!"

Drax was laughing manically, and one of their wings hit a large chunk of rock.

"This is how I die." Gamora murmured, "Why am I not surprised?"

"There's like … a _lot_ of magnetic interference here!" Quill shouted as their ship did a barrel roll, forcing a yelp out of Rocket, who Groot was beginning to worry for. How many of them were buckled in?

"No _way_, Pete! I was wonderin' what had pulled us out of space to hit a friggin' _planet_!"

By some miracle the Terran didn't crash for another minute, and they ghosted through tunnels barely big enough for the Milano to scrape by. The purple glow from the surface of the planet seemed to be growing before them, lightening up the corridors and caverns eerily before them. Groot wondered what was making it.

It even seemed to be getting brighter ...

"I thought that we were pulled here due to magnetic interference." Drax was confused once again.

This time no one got to irritably explain Rocket's sarcasm to him, however, since the glow before them suddenly turned blue and Star-Lord lost control of the ship.

The last thing Groot did before his world descended into darkness was to cup his hand over the yellow hazenwhorl flower.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER! WHAAAT?! (Sorry)**

**Okay. I need honest opinions here. Did I jump the gun on the action? It might be because my brain is fried, and I'm really tired, and maybe sick, but I feel like this was too sudden. **

**Thoughts?**

**Btw, special thank you to Anonymous1 and Feather32. I couldn't answer you guys in a private message, so I had to thank you here. Your reviews seriously made my morning! :) **

**And Feather32, I ALSO love Peter and Rocket. **

**I feel like Drax is neglected, sometimes, and- well. Honestly, I feel like in some fics, a lot of them are neglected. It is why I like to involve them all (thank you for paying me such a high compliment, Anonymous1! I'm glad you feel that I do all right in including everyone).**

**My personal favorite is Peter, because he is attractive and I am a lovestruck young woman. ;) But actually, apart from that, I really relate to him on a personality scale. When I'm nervous, I make jokes and laugh, and I always go for the rule of funny. Music is also a HUGE part of my life, and I appreciate how important it is to him (I could go on forever, but for the sake of your ears [eyes?] I'll stop there). **

**I do actually love them all, and there's nothing I like better than giving every character their dues. In Rocket's mind, he's the main character, so everything he does is the most important to him, and the same goes for all of the others. So I try to keep our naturally selfish natures in mind when I'm writing. **

**Plus, even if someone ISN'T my favorite, chances are that SOMEONE likes them a whole lot. ;) **

**Anyway, now that I've talked for a million years, I'll leave you alone. Tell me what you thought, and I hope you enjoyed. **


	5. Diggin' In

Groot woke slowly, and it was to a sharp pain in his right hand and a dull throbbing of his entire body. There was also a strange pressure on him, as though he were being pulled upwards.

There were small sounds that filtered into his consciousness, crackling electricity, shifting machinery, the emergency alarm …

They had crashed.

His hand was really beginning to be a nuisance, and it was with reluctance that he opened his eyes.

The bridge was before him, but it was hard to see in the dark.

No, scratch that, it wasn't quite dark. There was a flashing red light every five seconds, and Groot groaned quietly, closing his eyes against it. Why did emergency lights _flash_? It seemed like a safety hazard. What if he was concussed?!

…

_Was_ he concussed?

Could he _get_ concussed? He'd never been before, so he didn't know, and he figured that he was wasting time thinking about it.

It took him a long moment before he was willing to open his eyes again, and it was only to find out why his hand hurt so much. He was shocked to discover that his hand was above him, and not below, and he looked up with consternation.

Ah. They had landed upside-down. It explained the pull on his body, along with the fact that his arms were hanging above him, his hazenwhorl dangling sadly from his wrist.

The intermittent red light and the sparks from various consoles allowed Groot to see past his hands to the ceiling of the Milano that was now below him. The sight left him scrambling to get out of his seat,

"Oh no."

The buckle slipped open, depositing the Flora Colossus on the floor with a crash that sent pain jolting up his arm once again.

"Oh no …" He repeated himself as he stumbled to his feet, letting his eyes roam over the absolutely destroyed bridge. The first thing that caught his eye were the chunks of glass everywhere, obviously due to the huge, sharp piece of rock that was sticking straight in, holding the Milano suspended. Black dirt and rocks had also filled the front end of the bridge, cushioning the jagged point of rock that they had hit head on.

So they had hit the wall of the cavern, then. Groot could see the blue glow through the parts of the window that weren't blocked with rock, or completely broken.

Even in the dim light, with the flashes of electricity and red, it was difficult for Groot to see well, and he hesitantly held up his hand to allow his spores of light to burst around him. "Oh _no_ …" He repeated himself for the third time, and felt fear grip him as he surveyed the room.

He couldn't see his friends, and belatedly remembered that Rocket hadn't been strapped in. That meant that Rocket had most likely been thrown backwards when they crashed–a truly horrifying prospect.

Yet it also meant that his other three teammates were buried in the rubble before him. "Oh no!" Groot was torn for only a moment before he ran forward, heedless of his soreness and pain while he buried his limbs into the dirt. His friends would suffocate if he didn't dig them out immediately. He threw chunk after chunk behind him, panting slightly from the exertion of digging his friends out.

Groot was trying to recall where everyone had been sitting. Gamora had been in front with Rocket (who had luckily left his seat empty), and so was probably buried the deepest. Drax and Peter had been on the level in front of Groot, and it was the Destroyer that he uncovered first.

Drax's shoulder was limp, and the Kylosian didn't seem to be breathing.

"Drax!" Groot began working with even more fervor, his limbs morphing into shovels to uncover his friend. "Drax! Wake up!" He slipped his fingers into the dirt, forcing the safety harness open.

It was with panic that he pulled the Destroyer from the earth, dragging him back to lay him down on the floor.

Drax definitely wasn't breathing.

For one moment, Groot was in a pure panic, unsure of what to do. He knew that his lungs were a little different than his friend's but it was simple enough to sit the Kylosian up and slap him on the back.

It was several firm thumps later that Drax coughed, spitting up the dirt that he had in his mouth. His eyes fluttered for a moment, but didn't open, and he drew a shuddering breath. Groot breathed a sigh of relief, letting him down slowly before leaving him on the ground to frantically begin digging once again.

He was in the process of uncovering Quill's chair when a slurred voice spoke from behind him. "G- … Groot?"

"Rocket!" Groot spared him a look–seeing the bounty hunter who had descended from above (er, … below) where he must have been thrown in the crash–but continued digging. "Help me! Peter and Gamora are buried under the dirt!"

"Oh, _krutack_ …" There was a small pattering of feet, and then to Rocket's credit, he began silently helping Groot dig.

Groot was happy to see that although his small friend seemed woozy on his feet, his paws were certain as they threw the dirt behind them in frenzied scoops. His fur was matted behind one of his ears, and it was obviously with blood. "Did you just wake up?"

"Nno …" Rocket mumbled. "I been sittin' up there tryin' ta decide if Quill is worth savin'."

Groot just smiled, feeling it strain his face as his eyes fixed on Rocket's slightly smashed and withered orange hazenwhorl. The petals were jagged, but grew larger near the middle, and the Flora Colossus took it to mean that his friend had a bigger heart that he appeared to.

That he was helping uncover the Terran was testament to that.

"Frikkin' humie …" Rocket mumbled, and the annoyance in his voice was hollow. "Tries ta fly through a whole krutackin' _planet_ …"

"Why haven't we found him yet?" Groot asked, becoming alarmed at the amount of dirt they were removing from the seat with still no sign of Peter. They both dug more fervently at Groot's comment, only for Rocket to spit urgently,

"_He ain't there_! Flarkin' _moron_ must notta been wearin' his safety harness!"

"Then he was thrown forward!" Groot changed his trajectory, transforming his arms into giant scoops as he grew more desperate. He hurled the dirt behind himself madly, determined now more than ever to reach his buried friends. Rocket was beside him, his paws moving madly to make a dent in the large pile of dirt.

A small coughing sound came from behind them, and Drax's voice followed it. "Friend Groot … why are you burying me?"

"I'm trying to save Gamora and Peter!" Groot called back, feeling only a twinge of guilt for having thrown so much dirt on the Destroyer.

"That answer is not satisfactory or explicatory." Drax said.

"He said ta help us dig, ya idiot! Gams an' Pete are buried in this mess!" Rocket's shriek called the Kylosian over, and soon his greenish hands were helping them in their quest to uncover the front of the bridge.

"This is takin' way too long!" Rocket growled again after a moment. "They're both gonna be dead if we don't get 'em out in the next 5 minutes!"

"You cannot know that for certain." Drax reproached the bounty hunter as he increased his own efforts.

"We're almost to Gamora's seat! Keep going!" Groot's hand was on fire, and he could feel his strength waning.

"Friend Rocket, could you not store all of the dirt in your storage vial?"

Rocket's snout opened, and then his eyes widened. "That might work!" He was scurrying away almost immediately, and Groot continued to dig, hoping that Drax's idea could save his friends.

"Won't that suck them into the vial too?" He called back towards Rocket, and Drax paused in digging to clap him on the shoulder.

"We will get to them, friend Groot. Do not fear." The Destroyer's flower had perked up, and Groot felt his own do the same with the hope that they now had.

"I got it, I got it!" Rocket ran back in, never answering his question as he turned the vial on, sucking the dirt into it. It was much faster, and the bridge was almost immediately clean of dirt, revealing Gamora's chair, the Zehoberei assassin still strapped in and unconscious.

"Gamora!" Groot lengthened his arm, unbuckling her and pulling her back to sit her on the floor. He patted her back, much the same as he had done for Drax, feeling himself calm down when she coughed the dirt in her throat out and began breathing again.

"Haha! It worked!" Drax cheered, and Rocket tucked his vial away, not seeming pleased in the least.

"Yeah, but where's Quill?"

* * *

**Dun, dun DUNNN! **

**Okay, so I officially don't have a soul, and I feel less and less sorry about it daily. I totally just ditched y'all with another cliffhanger. **

**I believe I've said it before, but I'll say it again. **

**Cliffhangers are an addiction. I admit that I have it, but I haven't begun fighting against it yet. ;)**

**Feather32, don't apologize for not being able to log in, because I love and cherish your reviews. So don't even worry about it. I have no problem replying to them right here. I'm very pleased that you liked that about the hazenwhorl flowers, since I've really enjoyed being able to write with them. It's like ... a character study through flowers and fluff. :) **

**Anyway, don't worry too much about Quill, I'm sure he'll be fine. … Probably. **

**Tee-hee!**


	6. Time to Backtrack

Groot was glad when Gamora awoke, showing no signs of new injuries. Drax had also avoided hitting his head again, or reopening old wounds. Groot's hand hurt, but he knew it was from his implant, and so didn't worry too much.

It appeared that only Rocket had truly suffered during the crash.

Well, Rocket and Peter.

"What do you _mean_ he must have been thrown from the ship?!" Gamora was well enough to shout, and that told Groot that she would probably be all right.

"He means that he was physically launched from the ship at some point during our violent descent." Drax furrowed his brow, obviously unable to understand why that confused the Zehoberei.

"Well he ain't on board, an' his safety harness ain't broken!" Rocket had crawled down near the edges of the broken window, and he turned back to glare at them. "So obviously our resident idiot wasn't even _wearing_ it when we crashed! He _had_ to have been thrown clear!"

"You weren't wearing yours either." Groot felt it fair to point out, but was ignored as Gamora staggered to her feet (Groot steadied her with a branch), her eyes furious.

"You're telling me that Peter is out there in the caves somewhere, _bleeding to death_?"

"What I'm _doin'_ is goin' out ta _look_ for the stupid humie!" Rocket snapped, and then began to slip through one of the holes in the hull, blocking the blue glow from outside as he did so. "Who even _knows_ what the hell lives in these caves! I ain't lettin' somethin' eat Quill yet! He broke his da'ast ship, an' he ain't getting' outta fixin' it!"

"We will come with you." Drax was already leaping up in order to reach the (normally) lower level of the Milano (How was he hopping around in his condition?). Gamora followed, going more slowly due to her leg.

"Wait for us." Groot's voice stopped the bounty hunter in his descent through the jagged window, and Rocket rolled his eyes.

"Hurry _up_ then, 'fore Pete gets 'imself murderized or somethin' _else_ stupid."

Groot nodded, quickly pulling his way up after Drax and Gamora. He didn't comment on the mess that was their common room, but things had been thrown everywhere in the crash, and it looked very different when it was turned on its head.

He walked under the table in the center of the room, glad that it was part of the floor, and saw Drax reaching to get the door open above them. The Destroyer wasn't quite tall enough, and so Groot obliged, getting the first airlock door open with a squeal. He preceded his two friends, standing on the ceiling of the airlock, and pushing the button to open the second door.

It didn't budge.

"It must have been smashed inwards when we collided with the wall." Drax observed, pushing past Groot to force it open physically. It made a screeching sound _far_ worse than the other one, and Groot could see Gamora wincing in the corner of his vision. "_No_ … _door_ … can defeat … _Drax the Destroyer_ …!"

He proved his own words true a moment later, as the door finally gave with a loud groan of metal.

"Haha! Drax triumphs once again!" Drax stepped up to the edge, Groot following him, and they both looked down.

"How did Peter manage to crash us into the ceiling of the cave?" Gamora's voice was disbelieving, and Groot understood why. The Milano had impaled itself on a large stalactite, and it left the ship hanging near the ceiling of a very big cavern.

It was easy to see, too, since the walls of the cavern glowed blue. Groot had a strange sense that the atmosphere around him was pushing in on him. It was a cloying feeling, and he didn't like it.

"Quill did not seem to have trouble crashing the ship into the ceiling." Drax looked sidelong at the Zehoberei, and before Gamora could finish rolling her eyes, Rocket's voice came from far beneath them.

"Hey, you idiots _done_ up there?" The bounty hunter had obviously used his jetpack to safely make it to the floor of the cavern, and Groot could see him waving a paw impatiently. "'Cause I could use some help findin' a dumb humie who don't know how ta fasten a safety harness!"

Groot knew that it would be useless to remind his friend that he hadn't been wearing his either, and so merely prepared himself to go down. Normally, both Drax and Gamora could have jumped, but they were both still recovering from previous wounds. So the Flora Colossus encircled his arms around his friend's waists, allowing his feet to get a good grip on the edge of the Milano before he lowered them both down.

He stretched himself down right after, pulling himself back to his normal height to stand in front of Rocket, who was trying to work a small scanner, muttering and hissing, "_Frikkin' … krutackin' …" _The bounty hunter seemed to be angry with the small piece of machinery, since a moment later, he threw it at the wall of the cavern with a shout, "_STUPID, worthless piece-a crap_!"

"Rocket?" Gamora asked, even as Drax ventured towards the wall to pick the scanner up, tucking it into his belt. "What's wrong?"

"Flarkin' scanner got broke in the crash!" Rocket scowled. "An' it would've been the best way to track down Quill!"

"Then we shall have to search for him on foot, as a hunter stalks his prey." Drax observed, and began quietly walking towards the entrance to the cavern. It was obviously the way that they had entered, as their were rivets gouged into the walls by the wings of the Milano, along with broken debris and stones littering the floor.

"That sounds comforting." Groot began to follow the Kylosian, even while Rocket caught up, walking next to them.

"Ya plannin' on cookin' Quill up next, Drax?"

"That is ridiculous." Drax frowned back at Rocket, his gaze disapproving. "If I were going to eat any of my friends, you would be my first choice. I am certain that your meat would be succulent, perhaps more so than that of the moomba-"

"_Enough_, Drax." Gamora cut in just as Rocket opened his mouth, no doubt prepared to lash back. "We need to find Peter as soon as possible."

"Yes. If he fell from the Milano while it was in flight, he could easily be injured. Perhaps gravely." Drax reached the end of the cavern, and together they entered the slightly darker tunnel.

"He might even be dead." Rocket's voice was attempting to sound flippant, but Groot sensed the tremulous fear that lay behind his grim statement. The Flora Colossus glanced at his hazenwhorl flower, and could see that it appeared healthy, if slightly damaged.

"Peter is alive."

"I wish we were all as optimistic about it as you are, Groot, but let's face it. Pete was already in pretty bad shape."

Groot recognized what his friend was trying to do, as Rocket did it often. He was preparing himself for the worst, because his large and vulnerable heart couldn't stand the thought of hoping for the best.

"We'll find him." Groot didn't want to use his flower. He didn't want the rest of his friends to see what the flowers really did. Yet he promised himself that if they didn't find Quill in the next 10 minutes, whether Groot's hazenwhorl was happy or not, he would use it.

"Groot's right, Rocket." Gamora spoke kindly, but her voice was strained with a strange emotion. "You know how hard it is to kill Quill."

The fact that she was saying Quill instead of Peter was proof that she was on the same track as Rocket, distancing herself.

"Actually, I believe it would be quite simple to kill him." Drax didn't speak unkindly, but his words did not inspire confidence. For a long moment, no one spoke, which was strange in and of itself. Groot was happy when he had an excuse to break the silence.

"Look at that!" He pointed. Far ahead of them, at the end of the tunnel, the light of the walls around them changed color from blue to purple.

"Intriguing." Drax seemed just as happy as Groot was to change subjects. "We flew into the blue light just before Quill lost control of the Milano and crashed spectacularly."

Rocket mumbled something then that sounded suspiciously like, "_Frikkin' nutcase._"

"Then we can't go farther than the blue light." Gamora's eyes were probing the walls around them, and Groot followed suit, "He must be _here_ somewhere."

As if on cue, the flower on Groot's wrist tugged at him, pulling him towards a small pile of rocks to his right. He didn't even think twice before following it, knowing why it was so insistent. The rocks had obviously been shaken from higher up in the wall, undoubtedly when the Milano had whizzed past.

"Groot, what the flarg? Where are you goin'?" Rocket was trailing behind him, and they both came up on the pile of rocks. Groot almost immediately spotted the same thing as his small friend. "Izzat-?!"

Rocket scuttled forward, shoving dirt and rocks away from his find, and then he held it up for them to see. It was Peter's comm unit, normally tucked neatly behind his ear where he could easily access it to activate his mask.

"_No_!" Gamora was the first to surge forward, pulling rocks away from the pile with desperate movements. Rocket and Drax joined her, and Groot was flabbergasted.

"Groot! Hurry up an' help us, ya dummy!" Rocket snapped back at him, and the Flora Colossus looked down at his wrist. According to the Hazenwhorl, Peter was all right. "_What are ya still standin' there for_?!"

Groot felt a frown creak the wood of his face, and he knew what he would have to do. Yet it was still with consternation that he shook his left wrist, letting the small spores fly out.

Perhaps he should have just told them earlier, but it was too late now.

* * *

**Okay, okay okay. I am SO sorry about the wait. I really am. I have no excuse for being terrible about this update. **

**Seriously. **

**...**

**Does Endgame count as an excuse? **

***sigh***

**Well, looks like you folks are gonna hafta wait a little longer to figure out what happened to Pete. ;) *evil cackle* I regret nothing! **

**Oh, and it looks like Groot's secret is about to come out! :( Sad day. But I can't wait to see what they all say about it. ;)**

**Why thank you, Anonymous1, for your kind reviews. :) I love Rocket and Peter too, and seriously, I just relate to Quill so much on an emotional scale, that it's like ... not even funny (except it's hilarious, cuz everything he does is funny). I am glad that you like delving into Groot's character, cuz there'll be a LOT more of that comin' in the next chapters. ;) **

**Yeah, what the heck, Peter? Crashing in a planet? Only you could manage that! (to be fair, I will admit that something messed him up, or he probably would have made it. I just won't tell you what it was that skewed his piloting skills so suddenly.)**

**As for you, Feather32, you have all my (admittedly limited) permission to give Rocket a hug whenever you feel that he needs it (and he might need quite a few by the end of this fic). Yeah, the idea of being buried terrifies me too, so making the chapter sound urgent wasn't too hard. **

**Anyway, I promise I'll try to get the next one up at least a LITTLE quicker. ;) **

**Ta, mates.**


	7. Between a Rock and a Rocket

By the time the glowing yellow spores had begun to coalesce Groot had convinced Rocket to convince _everyone_ to stop digging, and now his teammates were watching as his hazenwhorl stretched, softly spewing forth its glowing yellow spores.

He had told Rocket that Peter wasn't dead, and when the bounty hunter had demanded to know how he knew, Groot had reluctantly explained.

"The flowers can do _what_?!" Rocket stood before him, swiping angrily as orange spores erupted from his own flower. "You _did_ tag us!"

"I didn't tag you!" Groot's voice came in the same moment as Drax's.

"My flower has done this once before. What does it mean?"

"What's going on, Rocket? Groot, what does he mean?" Gamora kept casting uneasy glances at the pile of rocks behind her, no doubt wanting to continue digging until she was certain that Peter wasn't crushed underneath it all.

"I-"

"Groot's been freakin' stalkin' us through these creepy flowers!" Rocket cut Groot off to growl at the others, and Drax frowned.

"It is not possible for him to fit through-"

"_How_?" Gamora turned to Groot, her green face set in stone. She obviously remembered her purple spores from before. "Groot, explain."

"I can see you through the spores." Groot pointed at the screen that was forming before him. He didn't need or have any desire to see Drax and Gamora, as they were just beside him, but Peter's teal color was becoming apparent before them. "I can make sure that you're all okay!"

"This is way more than just makin' sure we're okay, _pal_." Rocket was glaring at him, one of his paws working around the flower on his wrist. He hadn't ripped it off yet. "You can't expect us to wear these if we know you're creepin' on us all the time!"

"_How_, Rocket? _What did he say_?" Gamora's patience was swiftly waning, and it was Drax who answered, pointing urgently at the screen that had finally finished forming.

"It is Quill!"

"Peter!" Gamora's eyes widened, and Groot scrutinized the Terran on the screen.

"What the- … the hell?" Peter appeared to be staring at them, though Groot knew that it was only the spores from his own flower that had his attention. He appeared to be sitting down, and Groot could see blood on his head that looked black in the purple light that surrounded him.

"He's somewhere with purple light." The Flora Colossus glanced down their tunnel at where the light changed color.

"He cannot see us, but we can see him?" Drax's frown was in his voice, and so Groot did not need to turn to see it.

"All of our flowers work the same way." Groot explained, avoiding eye contact with his teammates. "If you shake them and the spores come out, you can see anyone you want to as long as they're wearing a flower too."

"_You totally tagged us_!" Rocket had been staring up at Peter, but now he turned with a snap.

"I just said that the flowers work _both_ ways!" Groot had been afraid of this reaction. It was one of the reasons that he'd never specified how the hazenwhorls functioned.

"I don't _care_ if they work both ways!" Rocket pointed a finger up at him angrily. "I _ain't_ gonna-"

"Man, these … better not be poisonous or somethin'." Peter's voice cut the bounty hunter off mid-rant, and he stood up slowly from where he appeared to be sitting, wobbling as he reached his feet. "That's the last thing I need."

"Where is he?" Gamora was looking down the hall towards the purple light, just as Groot had earlier. "Did he walk over there after he fell out?"

"Why would he do such a thing?" Drax was considering his flower thoughtfully, though his voice still frowned. "Why would he not follow the ship to aid us?"

"Ask Groot, he knows all about us _now_." Rocket's snarl was feral, and he turned his back away angrily.

"_Rocket_ …" Groot felt as though his heart was snapping, and yet he couldn't muster up the words to defend himself any more.

"Where is he going?" Gamora's attention was completely arrested by Star-Lord's movements on the screen as the Terran began to move away, muttering something about eating. "Groot, why can't he see or hear us?"

To Groot, she sounded desperate and worried, but he knew that it was due to Peter. The Flora Colossus feared that as soon as they retrieved their wayward member of the team, she would be angry with him just as Rocket was. Or perhaps she would react like Drax, who appeared to be disturbed by the knowledge, and yet accepting.

"'Cause he don't know how the frikkin' flowers work!" Rocket threw his paws into the air (how many times had he done that in the past week?). "We didn't know before either, or we'da _known_ Groot was creepin' on us from the beginning! How many times a day dija _check in_, huh _pal_?"

"This is the third time I've ever used it!" Groot felt the need to turn away from Rocket, to keep the barbed tongue away from his sensitive heart.

"_Suuuure_ it's the third time."

"Quill is leaving." Drax interrupted to point at the now empty screen, and Groot huffed as he flung a hand through it, and then he began striding towards the purple glow in the distance, slipping a few times as he went.

"Let's follow him then."

"Yeah, let's everyone follow _Groot_!" Rocket's cheery tone was clearly false, and so Groot attempted to ignore it. "He knows where we all are at all times, 'cause he don't got no idea about _personal space_!"

"_Enough_, Rocket!" Gamora snapped (it seemed to Groot that she had been saying that a lot lately). "I don't care _how_ Groot finds him, when we get to Quill we'll talk about it with him!"

"Agreed." Drax's voice was soft, and Groot was tempted to hang his head in shame.

He felt as though everyone was angry with him, though in reality, he knew it was mainly Rocket. Yet to Groot, Rocket's opinion meant a lot, and he knew that the hazenwhorl was a breach of trust.

He could see his hazenwhorl drooping, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rocket's doing the same as his small friend passed him in the corridor. Rocket had clawed at his wristband, and yet it was still on his wrist, so Groot wasn't sure if that meant he couldn't get it off, or was reluctant to do so.

Groot hoped it was the latter.

The purple light was coming up on them quickly, and the closer they got, the more drawn to it Groot felt. He didn't much like the blue light, but for some reason the purple light attracted him.

Perhaps that was why Peter had left the blue light. Maybe he didn't like it either.

The change when they passed from the blue light to the purple light was instantaneous and powerful. The cloying atmosphere around them left, and instead of feeling as though he were being shoved and pushed and crushed from all sides, it was like he was being tugged at.

"What the _flarg_?" Rocket's tone was still full of anger, but surprise laced its edges. "I feel like I'm gettin' pulled!"

"Perhaps this is why Quill came in this direction." Drax's repetition of Groot's earlier thoughts made the Flora Colossus feel better. It was good to hear someone agreeing with him.

"Maybe." Gamora didn't sound convinced.

They continued down the corridor, and Groot decided that he did like the purple better than the blue. He felt lighter, and it was easier to keep his footing. It was in noticing and cataloguing these differences that the Flora Colossus almost missed it when his flower tugged him to the left.

Groot sped up a little, climbing over and a few rocks to enter a much smaller tunnel. It was so small that he was forced to bend over a little as he entered it. "I think he's this way!" The flower's tugging was growing more and more insistent.

"It is much brighter in here." Drax observed from behind him, and Groot agreed. The purple glow had grown twice as powerful when he had entered, and it continued to grow as they followed the tunnel.

"Quill said that this planet is used for mining." Gamora's voice had Groot turning to see her looking at the ceiling. "But I don't recognize this mineral."

There was a brightly glowing purple vein of stone that ran over them and continued to run the length of the winding and twisting tunnel.

"Probably 'cause it's in its raw state." Rocket offered, walking past Groot with a huff. Groot noticed that he'd been chewing at his wristband, and yet his friend hadn't mentioned struggling to get it off. "But we ain't seen no one down here yet neither, so maybe whatever's left is useless."

Groot's hazenwhorl tugged almost violently as they turned the next corner, and the response from his team drowned out whatever he might have said.

"Peter!" Gamora was rushing forward, Drax and Rocket with her as Groot took in the small room before him. It was filled with deep purple crystals, all glowing brightly, and the Terran was slumped in the middle, his hands wrapped around one of the crystals.

He appeared to be trying to pull it out.

"Quill, your disappearance worried us." Drax knelt by the human, "Why did you come here instead of following the Milano?"

Everyone waited for Quill's answer, and Groot noticed that it took Peter a long time to get around to speaking. "I … how did you guys get here?"

"Ask _Groot_." Rocket growled.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Gamora had been staring at him, and now crouched across from Drax.

"Eat." The human spoke simply, shrugging as he did so. He motioned towards the large purple crystal in front of him. "I need … I mean, I gotta …" Quite suddenly, he leaned forward, and bit the crystal.

"Quill!" Drax pulled him away more quickly than anyone else had the chance to, and Groot took a step forward in alarm.

"Did he just try to eat that rock?!"

"_What the flarg_, Quill?!" Rocket put himself between the human and the stone, and Peter just looked confused, traces of purple on and around his lips.

"He must be concussed." Gamora's tone was all business when she stepped forward to take a look at the swollen cut on the side of his head.

"Not any more than I am, and I ain't eatin' no rocks!" Rocket growled.

"Hey, Drax, …" Quill tried to pull his arm away from the Destroyer, but it didn't work. "Lemme go …"

"I will not release you so that you can break your teeth attempting to eat that which was never meant to be eaten."

"Peter, how do you feel?" Gamora crouched in front of him again. "Why did you come here?"

Quill's face scrunched up, as though he were confused. "I … guess someone pulled me here … I mean, I thought I was pulled … There were blue- … blue lights …"

Gamora shared a concerned look with Drax, and Rocket spoke from his place beside the crystal. "Hey, … I think I recognize this rock! I mean, it looks a lot like- yeah! It is!"

"_What_ is it?" Groot rolled his eyes at his friend's theatrics, still eyeing the confused Terran with worry.

"It's flarkin' _odotrae_! Do you know how much this stuff is frikkin' worth?!" Rocket's tone was slowly climbing the octave, a sure sign of excitement.

"I do not care about that rock." Drax stood slowly, carefully bringing Peter to his feet beside him.

"We could be krutackin' _rich_!" Rocket began to cackle, only to stop abruptly. "But it ain't refined …"

"We _know_ that, Rocket." Gamora seemed annoyed by the bounty hunter's apparent disregard of their resident Terran's health.

"Oh _flarg_." Rocket's eyes had widened, and now he turned away from the crystal to look at them. "I just remembered why I've never touched this stuff."

Groot felt tension fill him, and felt his flower stand on end.

"Mining odotrae is super dangerous, 'cause there's radiation that messes with your mind when it ain't been refined."

"Then you are telling us-?" Drax's grip on Peter's arm tightened enough that the listless human winced with a quiet '_dude'_.

"I'm tellin' ya that if we don't get off this da'ast planet as soon as possible, _we're all gonna go crazy_!"

"What?" It took Peter all of ten seconds to realize that he was being stared at, and Groot suppressed a moan.

* * *

**Well. There's a buncha information for ya. **

**Be honest, my friends, was this chapter stilted? I feel like it might be, and some feedback in that regard would be fantastic. **

**Anyway, now for the appropriate reaction. **

**WHAT?! They're gonna go CRAZY?!**

**... **

**On the bright side, they found Pete. ;)**

**Feather32, don't feel bad if you haven't seen 'em all. I just watched my favorites too (which, like you said, would mainly be both of the GotG films, since they're my favorite). Don't worry, Peter losing control and crashing (amongst other things) will all be explained in due time. :)**

**And I mean ... being understanding is something that's usually a little delayed for Rocket … *sweats***

**Oh, but you're welcome for the permission. My pleasure, really. **

**-Al**


	8. Blue and Purple

The first thing they did was drag Peter away from the crystals. If the human suddenly attempting to eat rocks had alarmed Groot, it had put Gamora into a slight panic. She immediately began leading them back to the ship, Rocket at her side. "I remember Thanos speaking of odotrae, Rocket. Is it dangerous apart from the insanity?"

Rocket still seemed angry, but now it was punctuated by urgency. "Odotrae is super expensive, and pretty illegal to use in weaponry, so even if there _are_ miners on this planet, they're not gonna be happy when they find out we dropped in."

"Why is such a dangerous substance so coveted?" Drax hadn't let go of Peter since they'd begun heading back towards the ship, and the human trailed behind him with halting steps. "I did not think that people desired insanity."

"It don't make ya go insane, Drax." Rocket rolled his eyes, still walking up ahead of them. Groot could see one of his paws still working at the wristband, yet he didn't seem to be trying to actively tear it off as of yet. "Its _radiation_ does that."

"Why do people want it for weapons if it could make them go insane?" Gamora asked, and Groot was glad that she had. He was sure that if he had asked, Rocket wouldn't have answered (he could sometimes be spiteful that way).

"'Cause once ya heat it up an' mix it with other stuff, it don't make ya crazy no more." Rocket's tone had become one of greed and delight. "I mean, I've only_ heard-a_ this stuff, but I know it's supposed to make some frikkin' _powerful_ crap."

Drax opened his mouth to speak, but it was Peter who surprised them all by muttering, "He doesn't mean _actual_ crap, dude …"

"Peter?" Gamora was in front of the Terran instantly, "Peter how do you feel?"

"Like I flew outta the Milano an' hit a wall …"

Groot nodded. That made sense. Quill's head had stopped bleeding, but the black-looking blood still covered the side of his head, matting his hair. Honestly, the Flora Colossus was surprised that it hadn't killed him.

"Then you are not going mad?" Drax's grip must have finally slackened a little, since Star-Lord pulled his arm to himself as he answered.

"'m not crazy, I'm just concussed!"

Gamora turned to Rocket, "You said that it could make you go crazy. How long does it normally take?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" The bounty hunter shrugged. "All's I know izzat it can make ya lose it! I dunno how long it takes, I just heard-a the stuff from some-a the black market losers I've worked with."

"What is it that this rock will cause me to lose?" Drax asked just as Groot finally intervened.

"So for all we know, we're _already_ crazy?"

"Then is Quill crazy or not?" Gamora turned towards the human with narrowed eyes. "Because eating rocks is _not_ normal, even for people with head injuries."

"I already told ya _I don't know_ an'-!"

"I am _not_ crazy!" Peter pulled away from Gamora now. "I just remember waking up in the blue light, and my head hurt!"

"Then why did you come and start eating rocks?" The Zehoberei assassin backed the Terran thief towards the wall, and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I … I dunno, okay! I left the blue light, and … I- I just remember lights coming from my flower, which was weird, and then … I dunno, I- … I dunno! Something pulled me here!"

"Peter, calm _down_." Gamora reached forward, and frowned when the human flinched away.

"I have also felt a pull from these crystals." Drax's interruption stopped all talk, along with Rocket's glare at Groot for Peter's comment about the his flower, and Groot stared at the Destroyer.

"Like what we felt earlier?"

"Oh flarg. Drax has lost it too."

"Have you not felt it?" Drax ignored Rocket's declaration as he doggedly continued (and hadn't Rocket said he felt a pull?). "When we were in the blue light, it was as though it was attempting to push us away. Yet it is as though the purple light pulls us towards it. Have you not noticed this?"

As soon as Drax said it, Groot knew that he was right. He hadn't liked the feeling of the blue lights. It had been as though the atmosphere around him was pushing in on him. In the purple light, it was just as the Destroyer described it. It was … pulling was really the only word he could think of.

"Rocket, do you know the properties of the mineral apart from the radiation?" Gamora turned away from Peter to spear the bounty hunter with a look.

"If I did, don't ya think I'd-a _said_ somethin' by now?!" Rocket threw his hands up (he really had been doing that a lot recently).

"I am uncertain. You often keep information from us to laugh at our ignorance." Drax couldn't have said it better, and Groot pointed it out with a chuckle.

As soon as he said it, he regretted it, since Rocket glowered at him. Oh yeah, he was still mad. "_You're_ one ta talk, Groot, freakin' _taggin'_ us an' then _lyin'_ about it."

"Whoa, what?" Peter gave them both an incredulous look, and Groot could see just how uneven and large his pupils had become. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not important." Gamora spoke over Rocket's reply, reaching out to grab Peter and drag him behind her as she began walking. "We need to get back to the Milano."

"I doubt the integrity of Milano's hull at this moment. It appears as though many repairs are required before the ship will be worthy of flight once again." Drax followed just behind her.

"That … was a lotta words …" Peter's speech was slurred, and he looked back with squinting eyes. "Waitaminute- what happened to the Milano?"

"You crashed it into a da'ast _planet_, ya moron. Whadda _you_ think happened?" Rocket snorted.

"He didn't crash for a long time." Groot admonished, trying to ignore the sharp glare from his friend. "He only crashed after we hit the blue light."

As soon as he said it, he realized what that could mean.

"The blue light!" He spoke excitedly. "It must have pushed the ship and made him crash!"

"I do not understand you." Drax turned to speak firmly, yet his eyes were kind. It was clear that his patience was waning, however.

Rocket rolled his eyes, "Oh, _sure_." The bounty hunter's tail dragged a little as he stepped farther ahead. "Blame it _aaaaall_ on the blue light. It ever occur to ya that Pete's just a bad pilot?"

Groot didn't appreciate that Rocket was twisting his words, or that he wasn't explaining to the others exactly what the Flora Colossus had said. Perhaps it was a good thing, then, that he didn't get the chance to retort as their leader beat him to it.

"I am _not_ a bad pilot!"

"'Cos all good pilots forget to wear safety harnesses an' fly straight into _krutackin' planets_!"

"You weren't wearing yours either!" Peter stopped their slow progress down the tunnel when he pulled his hand from Gamora's (they had been holding hands? When had that started, and why hadn't Groot noticed?) spinning to face the small bounty hunter. "You were crawling all over the bridge!"

"Tryin' ta keep us from dyin'!" Rocket stepped forward. "An' look at the good it did!"

"Yeah, I almost died!"

"Because _you weren't wearing your safety harness_!"

"Well-!"

"_Quill_! _Rocket_!" Gamora's words cut through the quickly escalating argument. "That's enough out of both of you!"

"Friend Rocket, it is highly likely that your actions saved our lives, just as Star-Lord's terrible piloting skills prolonged our time before the crash." Drax's tone had become chastising, and Groot wondered if it was how he had once spoken with his daughter. "If the purple stone called Quill to it here, perhaps it called the Milano to it as well, and that is why the gravitational field–though I see no vegetation–is larger than that of a normal planet of this size."

"And maybe that's why we crashed …" Gamora finished, unwittingly repeating Groot from earlier. "Because the blue light does the opposite, and it messed with the controls."

"That's what _I_ said." Groot couldn't help but tack on at the end, while Peter's eyes widened. They were fortunate that the human chose to speak before Rocket could think of an appropriately scathing remark for his recently spurned friend.

"Wow." Peter was swaying on his feet a little, and Gamora's hand came out, but stopped before steadying him. "You know it's bad when _Drax_ is the wise one."

"I know it's bad when you start chewin' on _rocks_." Rocket huffed. "Now let's hurry up an' get ta the Milano before we _all_ go crazy!" He spared one more sniff at Groot before hurrying to the front of their strange little parade.

Quill started to follow, and would have fallen if Gamora hadn't grabbed his wrist while Drax gripped his shoulder (Yep. She was holding his hand because of the concussion).

The blue light was coming up ahead of them, and Groot felt himself dreading to enter it. Here in the purple light his footing was sure and walking was simple. He remembered it being difficult to keep his footing in the blue light.

Yet it was possible that he was over-thinking it. Surely the blue light could not have been _that_ bad. Then Peter passed from the purple to the blue, and immediately tripped, being caught by Gamora. "The _hell_-?"

Okay. So it _was_ that bad.

It only got worse from there, as they all heard the crash from the cavern ahead of them. It was a strange sound, incongruous with their surroundings until Rocket asked, "Was that the ship?"

Then they were all stumbling towards the end of the corridor, slipping around the corner to stare in horror at the sight that met them.

The Milano had been shaken off of the spike that had impaled it, and now it lay on the floor of the cavern, silent, crippled, and still upside down. That, however, was not what alarmed Groot the most.

Their ship was completely surrounded by huge furry creatures that had no eyes, only huge mouths filled with flattened purple teeth. Each one of them (and there were at least 10) were roughly the size of one third of the Milano. The creatures all turned to them as one, their giant ears twitching on top of their heads, quivering as they listened.

A series of clicking sounds came from one of them, almost hesitantly, if Groot were asked to describe it. Another one responded, and then they all began to come forward, blocking the Guardian's path to their ship.

"What the _flarg_?!" Rocket backed up quickly and for a moment it seemed as though he was going to climb up onto Groot's back, but then he seemed to think better of it, pulling out his large blaster instead.

"Hey!" Quill stepped forward angrily, wobbling slightly. "Freaky mole-things! Get away from my ship!" He shot at one of them, and the creature's fur absorbed it the blast, glowing a bright purple for a moment before it started walking more quickly towards them.

"Holy-!" Rocket never finished his sentence as Drax grabbed him and put him on his own shoulder (Groot would have to thank the Destroyer later).

"If their skin is impenetrable, it would be best for us to find better ground on which to fight. There are too many of them here."

"Run!" Groot shouted, and even if his team didn't understand him, they at least thought the same. As one, they began moving, except for Peter. He was standing and staring at the (what had he called them? Hadn't it been ...) mole creatures.

"Peter!" Gamora grabbed Quill's hand again, and Groot followed them out, bringing up the rear. Once again, they were running for their lives.

Honestly, Groot shouldn't have been surprised.

* * *

**Yep. Are any of us really surprised?**

**Wow, I'm sorry this took so long. I had to rewrite a coupla parts before I felt good about it. :/**

**And look! Look closely! The plot! I- ... It's MOVING! (I thought it would never happen, honestly) ... And was that some subtle Starmora in there? **

**Yes. Yes it was.**

**Wow, Rocket sure is a grudge-holder. Haha, I feel like Peter had just begun really recovering from my last story! I'd like to apologize to everyone if it seems like I'm favoring any one character over the other, because I hate that. So lemme know how it reads.**

**Poor Groot. It will all just go downhill from here on out. :(**

**Thank you for patiently waiting! My Wifi died on me yesterday, so here it is today!**

**Oh, and btw ... I REALLY love Drax. I'm glad he's in the Guardians.**

**Thank you KD172! That is quite a compliment, as I love Rocket, and I'm glad you think I write him well! Haha, and Yondu IS a legend. :) I love that ravager to death! *over-exaggerated gasp* How DARE Thanos kill a dog! ;)**

**Anyway, C y'all next time!**

**-Al**


	9. Trees are Sappy

It didn't take long before Groot made his decision, and picked up the stumbling human in front of him, holding him carefully in his arms as he continued to run. He was almost certain that he heard Peter groan, "_Not again_ …" before the Terran glanced over Groot's branchy shoulder and shouted, "They're gaining on us!"

Rocket turned from his bumpy ride on Drax's shoulders with a roar, immediately shooting at the creatures behind them.

Groot didn't look back, only lengthening his strides, easily catching up to Gamora. She was puffing and panting, and it was easy to see that her leg was giving her a fair amount of trouble.

Really, there wasn't a decision to make, and Groot shifted Peter to his left arm, scooping up the Zehoberei assassin with his right. "Groot!" She turned to look at him, her expression something between annoyance and fondness. "Put me down!"

"_No_." Groot shook his head, trying to ignore the pain in his right hand as he pushed himself even harder, now catching up with Drax. "I'm not losing _anyone_."

In the end, isn't that why he did anything for his friends? To protect them? It was the entire reason behind the hazenwhorl flowers, and it was the reason he continued running now, despite everything that could potentially go wrong.

There were at least two horrifying moments when he almost slipped and fell, but somehow he managed to keep himself upright. It was a relief when they passed out of the blue light into the purple, since running suddenly became much simpler.

Rocket's gun never stopped firing, and Drax seemed to be speeding up, while the creatures behind them did the same with much snorting and sniffling. "They're absorbing everything I throw at 'em!"

"Try to discover a weak point!" The Destroyer's advice wasn't appreciated as Rocket snarled back,

"Whaddaya think I'm _doin'_?!"

In his peripheral vision, Groot could see Peter closing his eyes in pain, a sharp gasp escaping from him.

"Peter?" Gamora had resigned herself to being carried, but now she stretched a hesitant hand forward. "What is it? Your head? The implant?"

"I … can hear … I dunno _what_ it is …" The human opened his eyes, again, and now it was Groot's turn to be alarmed, almost losing his footing, since for one moment it looked as though they were purple. "It's the _moles_!"

"The creatures?" Gamora clarified, and Groot felt heat singe his face as Rocket's next blast shot very close to his head. Rocket didn't seem too apologetic about it, and Groot wondered how long it would be before the bounty hunter apologized this time.

"I … can hear them … no …" Groot spared a glance at Gamora, and she returned his look with a gaze full of worry as Peter finished, "I can _feel_ them!"

"Just … hang on, Peter." She finally said, and then gasped when he suddenly gripped her arm.

"They're _hungry_!"

"Groot, _we_ _need to lose them_." Gamora's tone was urgent, and Groot understood. It seemed as though their leader was rapidly losing his grip on reality.

"I don't … know how we can." Groot was panting, and despite his words, pushed himself even harder to move. Soon he was running alongside Drax. They passed the small hole that led to the room where they had found Peter at a sprint, and there was a rumbling as the mole-things followed them.

"Rocket! Rocket they're hungry!" Peter twisted abruptly in Groot's arms, attempting to tell the bounty hunter this news, and Rocket gave him a strange look from Drax's shoulder, pausing in his firing. "I can feel them, and they're really hungry!"

"Peter, hold still!" Gamora tried to grab the human's shoulder, but he pulled away from her. In that one moment, he almost overbalanced Groot, and the Flora Colossus felt himself slip.

To his immense surprise it was Rocket who shouted, "_GROOT_!"

It was more than luck that kept him upright as his feet used the momentum of his tripping to propel him forward even more quickly than before. It was a miracle (Groot knew many people didn't believe in them, but at that moment there was no other explanation for what had happened).

"The tunnel is getting smaller." Drax's words were punctuated by his footfalls and harsh breathing. "Soon we will have the advantage, as they will not fit all at once!"

"Great! So they can trample us _one by one_!"

Groot had tightened his grip on Peter to keep him from wiggling around anymore–even going so far as to grow a few vines around him to help him stay still–but now the Terran jerked in his arms once again.

"_Peter_!" Gamora's tone was sharp with warning, and there was an undertone of desperation. "Stop moving!"

"I got an idea!" Star-Lord's voice was petulant, urgent. "_I have a plan_!"

"Your plans are crap even when ya _ain't_ crazy!" Rocket shouted as he fired off another blast.

"Let us hear it!" Drax's tattoos looked almost black as the purple light intensified, and they entered the smaller area of the tunnel.

"Shoot the ceiling!" The human in the crook of Groot's arm somehow wiggled himself out of his cocoon of vines, his arm sprouting out with his element blaster in hand. "Shoot it now!"

For all of his complaints, Rocket did as he was told, and Groot heard a rumbling behind him as their blasts struck the ever-lowering ceiling of the tunnel. Then the rumble continued, spreading throughout the tunnel.

Groot chanced a look behind him, and watched with fascination and horror as the ceiling collapsed inwards–almost too easily–blocking off the tunnel even as it buried a few of the moles.

For a few moments afterwards, they continued to run, and it was Drax who stopped first, panting heavily as Rocket hopped off his shoulder.

"What the _hell_ were those?!"

"Mole-people …"

Groot had stopped now as well, and set down his passengers carefully, feeling the ache in his limbs return with a vengeance as his hand throbbed angrily. Peter immediately slumped to the floor, and Gamora knelt beside him worriedly.

"Really really _hungry_ mole-people …"

"Peter, … can you still … feel them?" The Zehoberei began to gently check his wound, pulling him to lean against the wall in a way that wouldn't aggravate it or the implant.

"Yeah, Quill, the flarg was _that_ all about?" Rocket didn't put his gun back, but he took a step towards the human. "An' what's a '_mole'_?"

Star-Lord's eyes had closed again, but he cracked one open to glare at the bounty hunter. "'s an animal from Earth. It lives underground an' digs 'n stuff. Only … it's _way_ smaller than those things- ow!"

Gamora did not appear apologetic as she began to clean the large cut that adorned his forehead, and Peter squeezed his eyes shut against the pain.

"Is it much different from the rabboon that you often mention?" Drax's eyes didn't leave the mound where the 'mole-people' had been buried, his stance wide and firm.

"They're totally different!" Peter frowned, both of his eyes opening to glare, then winced as Gamora poked at an especially sore spot. "_Rocket's_ a raccoon!"

"Quill, if you weren't crazy I'd shoot your head off for that." Rocket's lip curled, and then for what seemed like the fifth time that day (at least) he threw his paws into the air. "An' now we gotta find another way back to the ship!"

"I am curious as to what these moles were doing so near it." Drax nodded, stepping towards the cave in and looking up. "Yet perhaps we can go back using the tunnels from above."

"Tunnels from above?" Groot's eyes followed the Kylosian's gaze, and immediately saw what he meant. There had been another tunnel just above the one that they had collapsed.

"Oh, good idea, Drax!" Rocket walked to stand next to the Destroyer, his voice fairly reeking of sarcasm. "Then we can dig our way down to the Milano from up top while the frikkin' mole-things _chew us apart_!"

"I would not allow any creature to chew on me if I were digging. I would immediately stop to fight the creatures."

"Hey, …" Gamora's halting tone drew their attention back to her and Peter, who was gritting his teeth as he suffered her ministrations. "I think some of the mineral got- … got into his blood …"

No one commented on the fact that her voice was wavering a little, and Rocket stepped forward quickly. "_Krutack_. That explains why his concussion is makin' 'im eat rocks."

"Hey! I'm right _here_, guys!" Peter tried to pull his head out of the Zehoberei's grip, but she held on fast, giving the rest of them a good look at the slightly cleaner wound. The blood indeed had a purple tinge to it, and Drax frowned.

"We must make our way back to the Milano immediately."

"Lotta good that'll do." Rocket scowled, finally holstering his insanely large gun (Groot had helped him develop the folding technology that allowed him to store it so easily). "It ain't fit for _scraps_ at this point."

"Hey!" Peter attempted to get their attention once more, but Gamora's voice won the battle.

"At least we'll have some sort of medical equipment. Drax is right."

"Well it's not like we know how to _get_ to the same da'ast place as before! We just blocked off the only passage that'd lead us there!" Rocket turned to point at Groot. "If you were gonna tag us all, why didn't you tag the Milano too?!"

"Who tagged us? What?" Quill was understandably confused. Groot dreaded the explanation that would follow the question, but luckily Rocket didn't speak soon enough.

"The flowers that friend Groot gifted to us allow us to know where the other flowers are, and see through their spores to find them." Drax explained it with a thoughtful tone, indicating that he'd pondered it for quite some time. "It is how we so swiftly located you after the crash, and I … I am glad for them."

Groot looked at the Destroyer in surprise, not having guessed that he supported him in this.

"I agree with Drax." Gamora looked at Groot before tearing a long strip of fabric from her jacket, despite Peter's protests, and began to wrap the human's head with it. "I wish that you had trusted us enough to tell us what the flowers really did, but I'm glad to have them as well."

Groot felt his eyes starting to get sappy as Rocket's scowl deepened. It had gotten worse as he'd listened to his teammates disagree with him.

"So, wait … we can, like, … spy on each other with our friendship bracelets?" Peter's voice had been getting steadily more slurred. Groot had no doubt that it had to do with the adrenaline leaving his body as his wounds (previous and current) caught up with him.

"Yeah, an' Groot was doin' it without tellin' us!" There went Rocket's paws, flying up into the air again.

Peter's eyes had slipped closed, and he quietly mumbled his response. "Man those- …" He gave a large yawn, "Those woulda been nice to have when we were dealin' with the Collector …"

"Groot frikkin' _tagged_ us!" Rocket seemed unable to understand why no one agreed with him. "He frikkin' tagged us an' never told _anybody_ about it!"

"Would you have done any differently?" Gamora had finished her work, and her hand cupped Peter's cheek for a moment before she stood to spear the bounty hunter with a dark look.

"I-!"

"Are you angry that the tree did it, or are you angry that he did not reveal it to you immediately?" Drax's sincere question stopped Rocket short, and Groot fidgeted, ducking his head in shame.

"I should have told you." The admission was difficult to give, and Rocket's glare didn't diminish. He continued anyway. "I was … afraid. I don't want to lose anyone."

There was a heavy silence, and no one seemed willing to break it. Gamora and Drax shared a look, but didn't say a word, leaving Groot feeling as though he were all alone with his best friend.

The moment was ruined (of course) when Peter began lightly snoring, despite a firm prod from Gamora's foot. Yet it seemed to have given Rocket the push he needed to respond, and he did so, avoiding eye contact religiously.

"I … get why you didn't say anything. Yes, you _should-a_ told me, but …" The bounty hunter's tail was swishing in agitation. "I was already mad, anyway. Mad at the frikkin' Nova Corps, mad at the RSR, mad at Korath, mad at the krutackin' Collector-!"

"Mad at the galaxy?" Groot smiled, cutting off the building rant.

Rocket looked away again, and his tail swished harder.

"Just shut up an' _tell_ me next time before ya go taggin' us!"

Groot had always appreciated that Rocket could understand him, and so it was with pleasure that he understood his friend's harsh words for the apology that they were meant as.

"I would also like to be told should something like this happen again." Drax agreed, and the moment was broken. "Though I greatly cherish this gift. It will be most useful."

"I like mine too." Gamora said, her smile strained.

If Groot were the kind of person who liked to take advantage of times like this, he would have called the moment _sappy_. It sounded like something Peter would say, though, so he just smiled wider as actual sap dripped from one of his eyes.

"So … are we goin' for the tunnel on top?" Rocket finally asked.

* * *

**Awww ... they finally made up. :) **

**Okay, so when I say this, it's dead serious. I have like ... a skeleton plot, but I just let the characters kinda take it over, so stuff happens in every chapter that surprises me. **

**How horrible am I, that I assumed Rocket would be angry for a lot longer? Apparently, he had other ideas, cuz look at 'em! They just- POOF! are suddenly best friends again! Well, it's all for the best, I suppose. **

**And is Pete losin' it? (Aww man, I hope not)**

**Also, just in case it wasn't clear last time I said it, I love Drax to death. (I mean, I love them all, obviously, but seriously. DRAX.)**

**I'd love some feedback on this chapter. I feel like I'm incorporating a lot of things going on all at once, and since it's from Groot's POV (he tends to go on tangents), I feel like sometimes, I'm not making it easy to understand. So as a legitimate question to you all, can you understand what's going on? **

**Like is it easy to read? **

**Or am I doing too much with the blue and purple lights, the flowers, the family feud, the Milano crashing, the Mole People, and the insanity? ... Just curious to hear your thoughts on this plot line.**

**Also, crazy note: It's really fun to read this out loud, and say "I am Groot" for all of Groot's lines. … Just try it. It's great. :)**


	10. Losing Ground (and Mind)

It didn't take long for Gamora clean Rocket's head after she dressed Peter's, though the prideful bounty hunter flatly refused to have it bandaged, claiming that it wasn't _that_ bad ("Pete's the one eatin' rocks!").

Together they had easily decided that it would be better to try to go back to the Milano instead of wandering forward and slowly losing their minds, so the top tunnel was their best bet.

Their Terran leader was definitely asleep, and so it was with care that Groot picked him up this time, cradling him as he started up the steep landslide behind his friends. The human shifted, but didn't awaken, and Groot wanted it to stay that way.

Rocket was in front of all of them, already climbing into the tunnel that had opened up above them. Drax and Gamora were a little slower, with the Zehoberei making her way up next to Groot, careful of her bad leg.

"Oh, _GREAT_." Rocket's tone was filled with annoyance and Groot resignedly wondered what was about to attack them now. "This tunnel don't even go the same _way_ as the one down there!"

"You are right." Drax arrived before Groot and Gamora, standing at the top of the dark colored avalanche to peer into the tunnel with Rocket. "Perhaps we can dig."

"All the way to the _Milano_?" Gamora was panting as she pulled herself up next to the Kylosian.

"Or even _better_," Rocket was clearly about to say something sarcastic, and Groot was sure that Drax wouldn't understand it. "We could call up the mole things from Quill's dreams an' let them dig _for_ us!"

"I do not see how that would be possible." Came the inevitable reply. "I do not think we have the time to train one, and they would likely desire to consume us once again."

Rocket's fur wasn't going to last much longer if he kept pulling on it like that, and Groot happily informed him of the fact.

Rocket glared.

Groot didn't mind. He could see from everyone's flowers that they were happy, and now that his best friend wasn't angry at him anymore, he couldn't help but feel good too.

"Could your broken scanner that you attempted using to find Quill discover the location of the ship?"

The look on Rocket's face had Groot stifling a chuckle, and the Flora Colossus could feel his chest vibrating with suppressed humor.

"Think _really_ hard about what you just asked, Drax, starting with the word _broken_."

"What if we found a way to fix it?" Gamora offered, her own lips twitching with a fond smile.

"Well, then that'd be _great_, except for the fact that I _ditched_ it next to the ship!"

"And that is from where I retrieved it." Drax pulled the scanner off of the back of his belt, and Rocket stared in surprise. Then his ears flattened themselves against the back of his head.

"An' how'm I gonna _fix_ it? I don't got no parts."

"Rocket …" Groot warned, hearing the annoyance in the other's voice.

"What about your storage vial?" Gamora's smile was really fighting to be on her face now, and it seemed to infurate Rocket.

"The stuff in there is _mine_! I'm not takin' it apart!"

"The Milano is yours as well, and you take it apart daily." Drax's response was immediate, and the bounty hunter let out a large huff.

"Just gimme that!"

They all moved farther into the corridor as Rocket tore the scanner from the Destroyer's large hand, the storage vial quickly appearing in his other paw. He sat down with a growl, activating the vial and gathering the things he'd need for the scanner while his tail twitched behind him.

It was in this way that they found themselves taking a rest, sitting around as their resident mechanic worked. Gamora stood for a long time before settling herself next to Groot, her eyes flicking to the sleeping human still cradled in his arms.

"He's sleeping peacfully." Groot offered after almost a full minute of her staring at Peter.

"I do not like this." Drax spoke (he was still standing on top of their avalanche), misinterpreting the entire situation while Gamora's cheeks darkened, her eyes darting away. "We were recently separated from one another, but now we are separated from our home."

"Which might not ever fly again …" Rocket grumbled, but the Destroyer continued as though he hadn't.

"I do not know what those creatures were doing near our ship, but I believe that they may have knocked it from the ceiling purposefully."

A long silence followed his declaration.

"You think they're intelligent?" Groot frowned at the thought, recalling that the mole-creatures had seemed to be talking to each other right before they had attacked.

"Do you think they were chasing us for a reason?" Gamora seemed thoughtful, and Rocket snorted,

"Yeah, they wanna _eat_ _us_!"

"I don't think that's what she meant." Groot shook his head at his friend, and Rocket's tail flapped in response.

"Do you think they could have been trying to communicate?" Gamora ignored the exchange between the two bounty hunters.

"Why would dumb creatures bother with the Milano?" Drax asked, his gaze intense and serious. "Dumb creatures would have attacked us more swiftly, especially if all they desired was sustenance."

"Then what was all that crap Quill was spoutin'?" Rocket adopted a high pitched whine, "'_Hungry! Hungry! They're hungry an' they don't got no eyeballs an' I'm goin' crazy an' I can hear their krutackin' thoughts an' they wanna eat us_!"

"_Rocket_." Gamora's tone was sharp, and the small bounty hunter shook his head.

"Are you sayin' that Pete's just lost it an' the giant rat-things might be friends?"

"_You_ are the one who first mentioned losing things." Drax's tone was slightly indignant.

"Hey, don't get me wrong!" Rocket put his paws up in surrender. "I think Quill's crazy too! But if he's even a _little_ bit right about those things, the only thing they want is to have us for dinner!"

"I do not blame them." Drax nodded. "You appear quite delicious."

"I'll show _you_ delicious, ya flarkin'-!"

"How close are you with that scanner?" Gamora put a stop to the argument before it had begun, and Groot stopped snickering to admire how expertly she did so. Rocket's fur stayed puffed up, but he reluctantly turned away from the subject of his ire, glaring at the small machine he'd been working on.

"_Don't rush me._"

Quill chose that moment to groan, murmuring something as he shifted in Groot's gentle grip.

"Peter?" Gamora glanced over, and Groot shook his head.

"He's still asleep."

The Flora Colossus looked down at the Terran, his gaze lingering on the bandage he wore. There were still traces of the black eye and split lip that he'd received from his treatment with the RSR, and yet he appeared to be fairly peaceful.

It was ruined when he scrunched up his face, muttering something once again. It grew slightly louder, and Groot realized that he was repeating the same word over and over again.

Gamora had pulled herself to her feet then, leaning in to assess him for herself. "Peter?"

In his peripheral vision, Groot could see Rocket and Drax exchanging a serious look.

"What?" Groot leaned in to Peter, trying to catch what was being said, and suddenly the human's eyes snapped open.

"_EAT_!"

"What the-! Don't do that!" Groot pulled away from the frantic human while Gamora gasped.

"Peter!"

"Quill?" Rocket had looked up from his place with the scanner, and the Terran stared at all of them with wild eyes.

Groot gasped as he saw the same thing as Gamora.

"Quill, your eyes are glowing purple." Drax's brow was furrowed, and Peter began squirming in Groot's arms for the second time that day.

"Hungry! They're so hungry! All they can think about is eating!"

"Peter!" Gamora put her hand on his arm, and held fast when he tried to pull away.

"The hell're ye screamin' about, Quill?" Rocket's tail had begun flipping back and forth almost acrobatically, and Groot could hear the sharp edge of worry in his tone.

"The _moles_!"

"Peter, you need to calm_ down_." Gamora still hadn't moved her hand, and Drax seemed to be shifting in his place behind her. Groot was relieved to see that his eyes were slowly looking more normal, yet there was still a thin sheen of purple.

"I believe we have a problem …" Drax's voice was hesitant, and subsequently ignored apart from Rocket's retort.

"Ya think?!"

The human was trembling, sweating and shaking. "Coming! They're- _ugh_!" His eyes closed, and Groot could feel the spark of energy from the Terran's transplant. It seemed to calm him down almost immediately, and the Flora Colossus wondered how many times it had shocked him before then.

Peter was shaking so much, in fact, that Groot felt his whole body vibrate. Gamora's eyes widened.

"… _lost it_ …" Rocket was muttering as he worked furiously, and Drax spoke up once more from his place to the side, his voice firmer now.

"I believe that I am experiencing an earthquake."

"Pfft. Impossible!" Rocket waved a his tool in the air as he said it. "If you c'n feel it, why can't-"

"I feel it too." Gamora stood, her voice urgent.

It was then that they all felt it, a powerful shaking from the ground that seemed to emanate from the avalanche that they had caused earlier to escape the creatures. It was probably why the Kylosian had been the first to notice it.

"No!" Peter shouted, but became limp once again when his implant acted even more powerfully than before, a low groan escaping as his eyes closed.

"The quaking seems to be originating from underneath us." Drax stepped away from the cave in, and Rocket swore quite suddenly.

"We gotta get outta here!"

"What's causing it?!" Groot stood from his place, and almost fell when there was a distinct sound of moving earth. Suddenly, from farther down the pile, there was a pop, and the black paw of one of the creatures came through.

"It's the frikkin' mole things!" Rocket all but howled as he absorbed his work materials into his vial, pulling his oversized gun out again. "They dug through that whole krutackin' pile! Ya gotta be flarkin' kiddin' me!"

"I do not know how to kid you, but there is no time to do it now." Drax spoke succinctly, and Groot shifted the limp human in his arms, preparing himself to pick up Gamora once again. "We must run."

Drax picked up Rocket, who didn't protest as he positioned himself on the large Kylosian's shoulders and took aim at the emerging creature below them. Groot picked up Gamora, who grabbed Quill's hand(?).

Then they were running once again. Rocket's blasts were echoing in the large tunnel (for the tunnel above the one that they had left was indeed larger) along with their footfalls and breathing.

Peter was murmuring, shifting in his sleep, and Groot pushed himself harder. Fear gripped him as he considered that they would be chased until they were killed, and then the Guardians of the Galaxy would be no more. It was thinking things such as this that spurred the Flora Colossus to continue in his dead sprint, almost passing Drax.

It was also thinking in this way that distracted Groot from noticing the trembling of the walls and cavern before him, leaving him completely unprepared for the ceiling to crumble from above him as a hole was blasted into it from the other side.

More attackers? From above?

"Oh, you gotta be-!" Rocket's voice rang from his left, and Groot was suddenly backtracking, trying to get away from the falling debris. Gamora cut a chunk in half before it hit him, and Rocket shot one before it crushed he and Drax.

"Get the eaters! Get the eaters!" Shouts erupted from the hole over them, and shots rang out. Groot felt one pass him closely as more shrieks followed.

"PROTECT THE ODO!"

They must have found the miners, then.

* * *

**Okay. Honest opinions of this chapter? (Help a girl out here)**

**It was harder to write, though I couldn't tell ya why, so I would LOVE to hear any and all thoughts on it (especially criticism if you've got some. Don't be shy. I think I could use a little humility ;)**

**Ahem. So. I guess I left off on another cliffie, didn't I? *looks away* Yeah ... I … I'll try to get the next one up nice 'n quick, no sweat! **

***sweat drips down back of neck***

**But hey, thanks again Feather32 for the kind review! Good to hear that it's makin' sense so far! Oh, and yeah, the Mole-people totally had eyes until like ... the last second, so ... I guess that did make 'em a little freakier, huh? ;) **

**I love you all, and I love that you love Guardians of the Galaxy! **

**WE ARE GROOT! **

**(oh and btw, the next chapter might get a little … tense. So prepare yourself for some feels.)**


	11. Then There was One

It was all Groot could do merely to get out of the line of fire. He grew a flat shield on his shoulder as he ran to the left, protecting his precious cargo. Gamora had at some point grabbed Quill, and was now holding him closely, also using her body as a potential shield.

Out of the corner of his eye, Groot could see Rocket still firing his gun (whether it was at the creatures or the miners was unclear) as Drax uncharacteristically led the way out of the fight.

They reached the side of the tunnel as the ceiling finished caving in, and the miners spilled in with angry shouts. Groot crouched down low behind a large chunk of debris, allowing his branches to grow more thickly around his friends, shrouding them from the view of both of the warring factions before them.

It was chaos, even apart from the falling debris of the recent cave-in. Roughly ten of the large black creatures had chased them in, and were now contending with the miners. Large jaws were snapping, revealing teeth that were stained a fluorescent purple.

In silent consensus, the Guardians knew that getting involved in the fight was foolish.

"What the hell kinda guns're those?" Rocket's mutter reached Groot's ear, and the Flora Colossus realized that Drax had taken refuge behind him, muttering something about hiding being dishonorable.

"Their guns change colors." Gamora's voice was soft, loud enough to only be heard by them. "They're purple, but they turn blue before they shoot."

"Buncha black market guys'z what they are." Rocket hissed back. "I told you that using odotrae in weaponry is totally illegal, an' I'm pretty sure that's where the color change is comin' from."

Groot could see that the miners were each firing pistols or shotguns with purple barrels, and before they shot, they would spin the action (or move the lever, accordingly). The barrels would then turn blue, just as Gamora had mentioned.

"Those firearms seem to be antiquated." Drax observed, his voice far softer than normal. "But it appears as though they are putting into use the repelling force of the blue light."

"Maybe." Gamora's reply barely drowned out the long-suffering sigh from Rocket, along with his muttered,

"Frikkin' _dictionary_."

"Are their guns made of odotrae, then?" Groot asked, keeping his voice low as well, and pressing himself farther back into the wall as more shots rang out. The creatures (eaters?) were retreating as the miner's weapons pushed them back, but Groot never saw any bullets.

"I dunno if they made the guns with odotrae or the bullets, but it looks like it's workin'." Rocket's voice was grim.

"I have not yet seen a bullet." Drax said.

"Me neither." Groot was still watching the fight, and Peter chose that moment to shift again, a soft groan escaping him. The Flora Colossus obligingly grew more leaves to hopefully disguise them from the fighters that had them backed into the corner.

"We need to get out of here." Gamora's hands were still closed around one of the Terran's, and her voice was urgent. "We can talk about their weapons later."

"Well that's a nice idea, except for the part where _they have us cornered_." Rocket scowl was audible, then changed as he turned his head, apparently to address Drax. "An' if you even _think_ of suggesting that we dig, I'll shoot you in the-!"

"Digging might actually be our best option right now." Gamora's golden eyes glinted, and Rocket whisper-shouted.

"_What_?!"

"The first tunnel that we entered may still be beneath this one. We were not able to run for very long before the screaming men interrupted us." Drax reasoned. "Perhaps we can dig to it and find the Milano in this way."

"You think those things won't notice if we suddenly start digging?!" Groot's small friend was obviously fighting to keep his voice down, and Gamora turned to answer sharply.

"It's as good a plan as any right now, but you're right. You and I will act as protection while Drax and Groot dig."

"We'd better start now, then." Groot turned to gently lay his friends on the floor behind him, and Gamora pulled Peter to lean against the wall. His face was scrunched up with pain, and it worried the Flora Colossus.

"KILL THE EATERS!" The fight was still going on before them, making Groot glad for the small cover that the caved-in ceiling provided for them.

Rocket scurried up to stand on Gamora's shoulders, his gun extending in his small paws as he prepared to fend off anything that came their way. Drax merely began digging, his large hands scooping the earth with a fury that made his hazenwhorl a red blur on his wrist.

Groot did the same, morphing his hands into shovels as he had done before and scooping the earth away. They were creating a large pile of dirt, and Groot made certain that none of it fell on top of the shifting human that was lying prostrate beside them (he still felt a little bad about burying Drax earlier).

The sounds of the fight seemed to be gaining volume rather than losing it, with the miners shouting and shooting while the creatures made inhuman snorting and screeching sounds.

Groot and Drax continued anyway, both knowing that their immediate survival was resting on their shoulders. They had just reached the point in digging where one of them could probably hop into the hole to continue, but neither got the chance.

Peter sat straight up, his eyes opening wide to reveal that they were almost completely covered by a shimmering purple. He gave a gasp, and then made a small choking sound, falling back against the wall listlessly.

There was another terrifying screeching sound from the fight when the Terran gasped, and Groot watched as–just beyond Gamora and Rocket–one of the creatures fell dead, blue blood pouring from its mouth.

"Holy _krutack_!" Rocket's voice carried back to them. "They killed it!"

"Where was the weak point of the beast?" Drax had paused in his digging to put a hand on Peter's arm, his eyes filled with concern. The human didn't seem to notice.

"They put a bullet right down its frikkin' throat!" Rocket answered, and Gamora tacked on,

"An _actual_ bullet."

"Yeah, I saw it that time too." The small bounty hunter confirmed, his gun hanging in his paws a little as he continued to stare with awe.

The clicking noises increased as the creatures surrounded the dead one. A screeching wail rose up from their large forms while the miner's shout hit its own crescendo.

"Get 'em, boys!"

"We got 'em on the run now!"

Quill's eyes were still open, and he twisted in pain, a moan escaping through his lips. "N- nnnooooo …."

Drax patted his arm reassuringly. "One of the creatures that you refer to as a mole-thing has been killed, Quill. We now know their vulnerability, and we will not let them hurt you. Do not fear."

"Wh- whyy …. Eeeat …" Peter's eyes seemed to focus a little. "Drax?"

Groot chuckled a little at the Kylosian's serious expression, but frowned as the creatures screeched once again.

"You are not well."

Peter subsided with a groan once more, and Groot returned his focus to digging, doing so even more urgently than before. His hand throbbed agonizingly, and he was glad when Drax hopped into the hole to help him from below, throwing dirt out above him.

There wasn't enough room for both of them, so Groot was left leaning down to pull the scoop the dirt out. He tried to keep the same pace as before, but he could feel himself tiring quickly.

"The tunnel beneath us seems to be much farther away than the last time." Drax observed, and Groot mournfully agreed.

"I hope we aren't far."

In the next few moments, Groot became almost completely immersed with his work. So much so, that he didn't notice that anything had changed until Gamora spoke.

"Peter?"

He pulled his head from the hole to look up, and could hear Drax scrabbling to see as well. The Terran was standing before him with Gamora on the other side.

"Quill, siddown before ya hurt yerself." Rocket growled, but his eyes were fixated on the human's.

"Eat." Peter's voice was still slurred, and he looked past Gamora into the fight behind her. The creatures had surrounded the body of their dead comrade, and were fending off the miners with screeches and clicks.

"Peter, you're not okay. You need to sit down." Gamora began to step forward, but the Terran chose that moment to shout.

"EAT! PAIN! SAFE!" He tried to run forward then, but stumbled almost immediately.

"Star-Lord, cease this act of insanity!" Drax reached up to grab his ankle while Groot wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Peter!"

"Shut the flarg up!" Rocket hissed, "You wanna have a buncha freaks breathin' down our-!"

"Rocket! Behind you!" Groot wasn't sure where the mole thing had come from, but it must have heard his friend's shouts. It moved far more quickly than the Flora Colossus would have guessed, however, its teeth coming up to snatch Groot's best friend up by the tail.

The bounty hunter's gun dropped from his paws as he gave a screech of alarm.

"_RODENT_!" Drax was already surging out of the hole, and Gamora had her sword out. No one was as fast as the eater was though, as it quickly backed away, rushing in the other direction.

"GAAH WHAT THE FLARG LEMME GO YOU FRIKKIN' PIECE OF KRUTACK-!" Explosive insults trailed behind the beast as it made its getaway, and Gamora grabbed Rocket's gun, following as quickly as her leg allowed her to.

Drax was right behind, his knives filling his hands as a battle cry escaped his lips. Groot began to trail after them, but stopped when he remembered the perpetrator of their current predicament.

Peter was leaning slumped against the wall, blinking his eyes blearily at the Flora Colossus. "G- … Groot?"

"We need to rescue Rocket." Groot wasn't mad, but his worry spiked when the small Star-Lord's eyes slipped closed.

There was no way he could leave him here alone. Groot reached down, swirling his right arm around his friend and lifting him up as he began to run. With any luck, he wouldn't encounter too many obstacles as he streaked through the war-zone.

The last thing they needed now was for one of them to get shot with the supposedly bullet-less guns. If they had killed one of the creatures with those weapons, the small–very much not impenetrable–Guardians wouldn't stand a chance.

"Rocket!" Groot called as he ran, "Gamora! Drax!"

He pushed his way past miners and mole creatures alike, hearing cries and chittering noises erupt behind him.

"It's a monster!"

"There's a man! It kidnapped a man!"

"Protect the odo!"

"I'm not a monster!" Groot shouted as he ran, even though the only being capable of understanding him had just been kidnapped. "I am Groot!"

Relief flooded through him as he spotted his friends up ahead. Drax and Gamora were both fighting against a wall of three angry creatures, and Groot could only assume that his best friend had already been dragged farther in.

He began to run forward to help, but was forced to slow down when Peter began squirming in his grip.

"Nno … nono … no …" The human was being far more slippery than Groot would have thought him capable of being, and he tried to keep running forward as he held the human at arms length, attempting to grow a better grip on him. "_No_!"

Peter's purple eyes snapped open, and everything went to Hell (not that it had been going very well before then).

There was a loud snapping noise as a gun went off, and Groot watched with horror as his right arm split away at the elbow, sending Star-Lord (and his implant) sailing over his other friend's heads and behind the eaters. "Peter!"

"Groot?!" Gamora turned while Drax made to leap over their assailants.

"Star-Lord!"

"Kill the monster!" more shots rang from behind him, and Gamora suddenly slammed into Drax, knocking heads with the Kylosian hard enough to take them both down.

"Gamora! Drax!" Groot reached his other arm for his friends, and another shot cracked off from behind him. It was the first bullet that the Flora Colossus had seen, and it almost took his other arm off.

"_Kill it_!" The cry came from behind him, and Groot watched as the eaters turned to run, making their way quickly down the tunnel, and leaving no trace of either Peter or Rocket behind.

More shots rang, and Groot felt himself moving forward quickly, from a force that he could not fight. He hit the wall with a groan, and stumbled to his feet to look behind him.

Drax was crouching over Gamora, holding her head in his lap as his wide eyes met those of the Flora Colossus. He called out, obviously meaning to protect the one friend he could as he pulled the Zehoberei assassin close to him. "_Run_, friend Groot! Protect yourself!"

"But-!" Another bullet slammed into the wall next to Groot's head, and he found himself stumbling away as his ears rang.

"_Run_!"

So Groot ran.

* * *

**I hate so many things about this chapter. It's seriously not even funny. I dunno why, either. I just had ... really bad writers block (hence the SUPER late update) and I finally pushed through it and ... **

**What did you guys think? Honestly? **

**Like, ... I knew where I wanted to go with this chapter, but I felt like it was just SO HARD to get there! **

**Anyway. On a different note I left y'all with ANOTHER cliffhanger, and I'm not sorry at all. I think this fic is just about to get epic (if you can ignore this chapter disaster ;).**

**As for your question, KD172, I try to update every day, but lately it's been pretty tough (see beginning of note for further information). I will definitely try to do better, since I'm happy to make you all happy with updates. :) **

**Heck, I'm just glad you like the story! An' that goes for all of you! **

**But thanks, really, for the love, guys. ;) Y'all're the best. **

**-Al**


	12. Real Shock

Time was meaningless.

Groot had no idea how long he'd been running, but judging from the achy feeling in his lower body, it had been quite a while.

He was back in the first tunnel that they had crashed into, having long ago slid down the small avalanche that they'd made to stop the eaters, still running full pelt away from his failure.

The light around him was purple, and the only thing that shared the empty space of his tunnel with him was the sound of his heavy breathing and the thud of his feet.

Drax had told him to run.

Groot was running.

Groot had been running.

Groot had run.

Now he was on his knees, the knuckles of his left hand curled against the dark earth beneath him while the stump that had once been his right arm dangled loosely from its socket.

Groot had no idea when he'd collapsed or for how long he'd been there, but judging from the ache in his knees and his slumped spine, it had been quite a while.

The eaters had taken Rocket. The eater that had come after Quill's shouts had lifted the small bounty hunter by the tail (Groot knew Rocket hated that) and carried him away.

Groot could still hear echoes of his best friend's panicked shouts in his memory. He could still recall the panic and desperation that had electrified the air as the bounty hunter's large gun had clattered to the floor.

He could also clearly recall watching the writhing form of his small leader sailing over the eaters and into their ranks, the human not even being sane enough to shout.

Distantly, Groot wondered if the eaters would devour his friends immediately, or if they would wait. At the very least, it was unlikely that his best friend still had a tail.

Groot hung his head as Drax's final words echoed in his mind, overlapping Rocket's fading shouts.

'_Run_, friend Groot! Protect yourself!'

"But what about you?" Groot didn't know why he was speaking. No one was there to answer him.

'_Run_!'

Groot felt a drop of sap find its way out of his eye, and hung his head even farther. It was easy to recall the sight of a limp Gamora cradled in Drax's arms, the miners coming up behind them both with fire in their eyes and their weapons.

The Flora Colossus had failed.

He watched distantly as the sap dripped from his face, and wondered not for the first time why he could not bleed if he could cry.

Time was meaningless.

Groot didn't know when or how he'd come to be sitting against the wall, or for how long he'd been there, but judging from the ache in his shoulders and his rear, it had been quite a while.

Tears of sap had long since dried on his face, and he blinked as he allowed his eyes to focus on the chamber around him. The tunnel had gotten smaller, and there were clear scrapes on the wall where the Milano had barely fit through.

Groot hung his head again, dragging his hand up to support it. He closed his eyes against more tears, willing them to stay put, and when he opened them again, he could have sworn that the room was lighter.

There was a muffled sound from before him, and he paid it no mind, ready to let the mole-creatures take him if that is what had come. Or perhaps it was the miners, and he would join Drax and Gamora in their almost certain deaths.

"I have failed."

Predictably, no one answered him after this declaration, but for some reason, it was simple enough to imagine his best friend's voice, earnest and filled with worry (the tone Rocket used when Groot hadn't heard him, or wasn't listening, or hadn't understood something important).

"It wasn't yer fault, bud. It was totally Quill's bad."

Groot looked up in sharp surprise, and stared into the face of his best friend for a long moment. Apparently his mind was on its way to join Peter's, and Groot couldn't help but wonder why his hallucination of his best friend was orange.

Couldn't his odotrae-infected mind come up with anything better than an orange hallucination of his best friend? Groot hunched into himself even further before replying. "He was crazy. I have no excuse."

The Flora Colossus had always had a good imagination, but his orange friend gave a surprisingly lifelike scowl at that (Groot supposed that his mind knew Rocket well enough by now to hallucinate him accurately), his dark eyes filling with worry. "Don't give that frikkin' humie the benefit of the doubt here!"

"Pleading … insanity …" An imagined Quill's voice became audible (now he was hallucinating Peter too?), and the human appeared before Groot as well, his pale face split with a wan smile in same orange tint as Rocket. "I like it …"

"You _would_, ya moron." Fake-Rocket snorted, pushing the human with a paw to lie down.

"Now you're all gone." Groot moaned, hanging his head again. "It's all my _fault_."

"Groot." Rocket's tone became very serious (so Groot's mind didn't know Rocket _that_ well). "Listen ta me. _None_-a this is your fault, seriously. I dunno why you have this sacrificial self blame problem, 'cause you ain't done _nothin'_ wrong."

"It was … totally my- … my bad, dude." The orange Star-Lord didn't shift from his place on the floor to address him, but spoke just the same. "I was really … out of it."

"You got the same problem as _Groot_." Rocket shook his head. "But yer right. You were bein' even dumber than _normal_."

"Ouch." Fake-Peter didn't sound particularly bothered.

"I lost an arm." Groot didn't know what more he could say to this fake Rocket that his mind had conjured up, and so he proffered his chopped off limb as a change of subject.

"Yeah, we know." Fake-Rocket raised his brow, as though unaffected. His eyes contrasted greatly with his casual tone, however, shining with concern that the real Rocket often stifled. "Thought you'd be _happier_ 'bout it, though."

"_Happy_?" Groot had half a mind to stand up in his indignation, but couldn't find enough energy to follow through with it.

"Yeah, happy." Rocket lifted up the other half of Groot's arm for him to see, and the Flora Colossus stared as he proffered the palm. There was an obvious glint from his old implant inside. "'S'not like we can just chop Pete's head off an' he'll come back, but at least now you don't need no surgery."

Groot could only stare, not having thought of that himself, and now feeling very stupid. Even his hallucinations of Rocket were smarter than he was.

"Why- … why're we talkin' 'bout chopping my head off, again?" Peter slurred.

"Just go back ta sleep, Star-Dork."

"'m tired of sleeping …" Came the mumbled reply.

"Sleep it off. You'll feel better when ya wake up." Fake-Rocket turned his eyes back from the hallucinatory human then, giving Groot what had to have been at least the fourth once over during their conversation. "Speakin' of which; Groot, what happened ta Drax and Gams? I haven't been able ta get ahold of 'em. 's like those miner guys took their wristbands're somethin'."

"I left them." Groot could feel sap building up in his eyes again. "I left them with the miners and they're probably already dead."

"Whoa, whoa whoa! Deep breaths, bud!" Rocket put up a paw. "What're you talkin' about?"

"Gamora was already injured, and Drax couldn't protect her alone, and I ran away because they thought I was a monster-!" Groot stopped, regaining his composure just a little before he continued. "I left them to fight alone. I ran. Drax told me to run …"

"An' ya did the right thing, Groot." The small orange bounty hunter looked like he wanted to pat Groot on the leg, a motion that he often adopted to reassure his friends. "Drax an' Gams're probably _fine_."

Later, Groot would realize that his friend's voice hadn't held much confidence, but in that moment, he was furious. "You can't know that! You- you _can't_ know that!"

"Groot." Rocket's voice was more earnest than ever before. "You _need_-a calm down, pal. The miners're less likely to murderize us than the freaky eater things are, an' look an me an' Pete! We're totally fine! They just threw us in some stinky cave an' left us alone!" The small mammal's eyes were wide while his tail twitched behind him (There was no way Rocket's actual tail had survived, even if _he_ had).

"You can't know that!" Groot roared, and watched his false friend stumble back as he slashed his good hand towards him. "You're not even real!"

The hallucination dissipated immediately, and Groot put his head into his hand as he cried.

Time was meaningless.

The tunnel was dark once again, the purple glow overtaking everything around him.

Groot wasn't sure how long he sat slumped against the wall, crying, but judging from the ache in his eyes and back and rear, it had been quite a while.

He felt achy all over, and confused as to how he'd come to feel so terrible. The last thing he could remember clearly was running after Rocket, with Quill tucked in the crook of his-

Memories came flooding back with a vengeance, and Groot looked at his right arm-stump with intrigue. He was happy that the implant was gone, and frowned when he realized that he must have been in shock not to have noticed it earlier.

He distinctly remembered talking with Rocket, and wondered if shock could really make you hallucinate like that or if the odotrae was beginning to affect his mind as it had with Peter.

Groot stood up with creaking limbs and began trudging slowly back the way that he'd originally come, ruminating on whether or not his friends were alive. He dearly wished that he had some sort of way to-

"I'm an idiot!" Groot stopped short, looking down at his hazenwhorl flower, which looked much the worse for wear.

Not one petal had died, however, easily informing him that his friends were most definitely alive. Groot absently wondered why he hadn't thought to check the flower earlier.

It had officially been a brilliant idea to gift the small hazenwhorl flowers to his friends, and Groot couldn't help but smile as he shook his wrist, allowing the small yellow spores to spew forth.

His thoughts were focused almost entirely on his best friend, and so it was the orange tinted screen that floated into existence before him.

Orange …

Then his friend's furry head followed, a scowl painted across his face.

It was this scowl, tinted orange by the spores on the other end that had Groot's eyes widening at his small friend, his memories bringing up the last incident where the bounty hunter had made that face in that color.

A very _recent_ incident. Hadn't it been a hallucination?

The scowl softened, and Rocket spoke gently (for him, anyway). "Groot? Bud? Are you okay?"

"For the record … you're not hallucinating us …" Peter's voice filtered in tiredly from the background. "These bracelets were totally _your_ idea …"

"I didn't mean ta scare you before …" Rocket seemed very abashed. "I knew you were in shock, but- … you wouldn't answer your flower, and when you finally did an' I talked to you it was like you was already _dead_!"

Time was sputtering, as though just escaping from the hazy pause that it had been stuck in since Groot had lost his family.

"I thought _you_ were all dead."

"Dude, Rocket was freakin' out …" Peter came into view of the screen, his eyes still holding a purple sheen through the orange filter (he seemed far more coherent than before, however), "You were sittin' there like- … like a zombie."

"I think the miners did somethin' with Drax an' Gammy's bracelets, 'cause they weren't answerin' either, an' me and Quill have just been stuck in this krutackin' room forever now with your frikkin' _arm-_!"

Time spluttered again, and Groot felt his mouth twitching up at the corners.

"But seriously, Groot …" Peter frowned at the screen, speaking up right in the middle of Rocket's rant. "Are you okay?"

"You _know_ how bad it is to be stuck with a bored humie, well it's _twice_ as bad when they're crazy! Quill won't shut up, an' he keeps singin' that ooga chaka song an' now it's stuck in my brain forever-!"

"I feel a lot better." Groot admitted it with a full-blown smile. There were still so many things that were wrong with their situation, yet the Flora Colossus knew he hadn't failed yet.

Time started up again.

* * *

**Did this chapter make sense? ... Should I just start over? Could you all tell that Groot was suffering from serious shock until the end?**

***Adopts Soos voice from Gravity Falls* These are all legitimate questions. ;) **

**Anyway, this was a sad-ish chapter, and I'm really worried that I made it too confusing. I was trying to help the reader understand the shock that Groot was experiencing. So honestly, whaddaya'all think?**

**Ooh, also as a heads up, you guys are AWESOME. ;) I mean seriously, your reviews make my day when I read them, and I'll ALWAYS answer you if I'm able, because I am SO GRATEFUL. **

**I get it now when you're watching TV and they're like: **

**THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. **

**I literally feel exactly the same. So shout-out to you guys, who are the _real_ heroes here! (aside from Groot, cuz he's pretty dang awesome.)**

**WE ARE GROOT**


	13. Understanding

**I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG BUT I'M BACK AND I HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR IT**

* * *

It wasn't long before things calmed down again, with Peter falling asleep once more as Rocket tried desperately to explain where they had been taken. According the bounty hunter, they had been dragged deep down into the planet–much farther than they had ever previously gone.

Groot's friend seemed nervous, since his tail was twitching while he watched the Flora Colossus call their two missing teammates. The reason for his nervousness soon became apparent when he spoke quickly. "You should probably go get Gams an' Drax before ya come down here."

"I'm not leaving you there!" Groot huffed, still trying to get a response out of either Gamora or Drax's flowers. He was worried that they still hadn't answered, but still managed a glare towards his best friend at the insinuation that he would ever leave him down there with their half-mad leader and animals who would likely eat them.

"Don't worry about us, bud." Rocket gave a toothy grin. "Pete might be losin' it, but there ain't no way we're stickin' around here for long if _I_ have anything to do with it!"

There was a long pause where Groot didn't answer him, and their two missing friends still didn't answer their flowers. It became slightly awkward after 5 seconds.

"And I do." Rocket clarified, his voice flatter than before, some of the confidence having leaked out. "Have somethin' to do with it, anyway, 'cause I'm the one who nearly lost a _tail_ gettin' thrown in here."

"Why haven't you been able to escape yet?" Groot was patient, knowing the small bounty hunter well enough to understand that most of his words were spoken to fill the silence, and nothing more.

"Oh, don't worry!" The grin was back, but Groot could see the strain in it. "I'll have us outta here in no time!"

"But what's stopping you?"

"The frikkin' eater-things are sittin' in the middle of the tunnel that leads out!" Rocket threw his paws up and Groot wondered how many more times he'd do it before it became a permanent habit (perhaps it already was). "They haven't touched us 're anything, but they won't move! They just sit there an' make weird sounds every time we try to leave!"

"Weird sounds?" Groot paused in his attempt to contact Drax and Gamora, giving Rocket his full attention.

"Yeah! Then they just … I dunno, push some odotrae at us an' leave us alone." The bounty hunter gave a very expressive shrug, and then narrowed his eyes with a dangerous smirk. "I mean, if I could get all-a this odotrae outta here an' onto the ship, we'd be krutackin' _rich_!"

"Do you think they're trying to talk to you?" Groot stood slowly as he asked it, the ramifications of what that could mean hitting him. If they could talk, they could be reasoned with. If they could be reasoned with, perhaps they could even help.

"Flarg if I know." Rocket rolled his eyes. "They might be one of those weird species that only eat dead animals, an' so they're keepin' us safe till we die."

"Don't say that." Groot reproached, disgust filling him at the thought. His friend merely shrugged again, seeming very unapologetic.

"Well, whatever's gonna happen, me an' Pete'll figure it out. You should go make sure Drax didn't get him an' Gammy killed."

Groot personally felt that Drax had done a rather admirable job at keeping the team safe during recent disasters, but he refrained from pointing that out, merely nodding. "Keep Peter safe."

"That's even harder than escaping." Rocket rolled his eyes again, but the motion was fond.

"I know." Groot smiled back before waving his hands through the spores before him, letting them dissipate almost immediately with the image of his best friend. He was still standing, and moved slowly to the middle of the cave.

Groot knew that he would have to go back to find Drax and Gamora, but he was loath to do so. He was worried that the miners would merely attempt to kill him on sight, and all he had to do was glance at his hazenwhorl to know that at the very least his friends were still alive.

Surely they would have an easier time talking to the miners if the men didn't think they were in league with a monster.

Thinking of monsters brought his mind back to the eaters, and Groot began to walk as he considered it.

Groot's species was quite special when it came to communication, and it had to do with the fact that their language was completely unique. A difficult language to learn, and yet once learned–truly learned–it opened up understanding to all other languages.

The Flora Colossi didn't understand words–at least, not in the beginning. They understood the meaning _behind_ the words.

Groot could easily remember his time on Halfworld, a dark time for him, even darker for his best friend. One of his fondest memories of the place, however, was when he had first met Rocket.

The small mammal hadn't yet been fitted with the right cybernetics to enable speech, and as such was only capable of chattering and hissing. Groot must have appeared monstrous to him in the beginning, since Rocket had skittered away nervously with numerous growls and chirps.

The sounds themselves were fairly indistinguishable as having any meaning. For all anyone else might have known, the creature was a dumb one, incapable of thinking independently. Groot, however, with his great gift of understanding, knew exactly what the small creature before him was attempting to convey.

Fear. Need. A recent loss that had turned his life on end.

Groot could easily recall his answer.

_"I'm sorry if I scared you."_

In his heart of hearts, he had known (or supposed) that the terrified, _hurting_ creature before him would never understand. It was his curse, to understand and never be understood.

Oh how surprised he had been when the fur covering his small cell-mate puffed out, and another series of yowls formed a question, _"Why do you care?"_

_"I lost my family."_ Groot had inclined his head in respect towards the creature. _"I am sorry that others have felt the same pain as I."_

_"Pain?"_ Rocket had tossed his head, his tail twitching angrily. _"You don't know pain till they take you apart and make you a freak!"_

_"I am still sorry."_

It hadn't been the friendliest exchange, but had been important in the fact that it marked the first of many. It had been a pleasant surprise when Rocket had retained his ability to understand the Flora Colossus, even after he gained his ability to speak.

The small bounty hunter had not been able to understand others in the same way, and Groot suspected that with the aid of his translator and modified mind, he'd most likely lost the ability.

Groot had no translator, and so his ability had always served him well. He would learn languages after understanding, and he liked it better that way. In that way he had been able to understand all of his new friends, and more importantly, had been able to understand all that they could not–or would not–fit into their words.

He understood that when Gamora told Peter '_I hate you'_, it really meant _'I don't want to see you get hurt'._

While Drax often shouted that he succeeded at all things, it really meant that he could not forget his biggest failure.

When Rocket snarled that he didn't care, he really meant that he couldn't stand the thought of trying it again.

Peter's mantra and often spoken phrase, _'I love music!'_ really meant _'I miss her.'_

Groot understood. He had always understood. It was part of who he was, and it made him very happy when his friends started doing the same with him.

With each other.

When Rocket (in a rare moment) made no comment on Drax's claims of being the best at all things, letting him revel in his small triumphs.

The times Gamora left Peter's music running.

Small moments when Quill would distract Rocket with an abrupt malfunction of the Milano, right as the small bounty hunter had begun to dwell on the past.

When Drax sparred with Gamora, letting her be as angry as she wanted, always assuring that he could not be hurt.

Groot understood the love that they had for each other, and it made him smile.

He was still smiling as he began the climb out of his tunnel into the one above, purposefully keeping his mind on the intricate relationships that he had with each of his friends (it was hard enough to climb with only one arm, and that helped him not dwell on his predicament).

The Flora Colossus spared a glance at the hazenwhorl on his left wrist, reassuring himself that his friends were all alive and well (hopefully).

He had high hopes that the eaters were perhaps smarter than they appeared, and if so, he would be able to understand them. Perhaps they weren't quite as cruel as they first appeared to be.

After all, Rocket seemed confident that they wouldn't be eaten any time soon. So they must have had some other motive.

When Groot reached the top of the pile, only just beginning to enter the tunnel above, his hazenwhorl stretched, spitting out a plethora of yellow spores. He held it up, and felt excitement run through him when the screen that formed took on a distinctly red hue.

"Friend Groot?"

"Drax!" He shouted it happily, just as Rocket's orange screen appeared on his left, a fuzzy face filling it.

"Well it's about frikkin' time!"

"Apologies." Drax appeared to be physically fine (as fine as any of them could be after the last week). "The miners were adamant that our flowers be checked for any strange devices."

"They threw us in jail." Gamora's voice was weak, and Groot was happy when she levered herself up onto the screen, leaning casually against the wall. "They think we're here to steal the odotrae."

"Indeed." Drax nodded. "It was quite difficult to convince them that our retaining of the flowers was necessary."

"Ugh! You guys had Groot totally worried!" Rocket hissed.

"You worried us as well, friend Rocket. Yet it is good to see that you have escaped the creatures."

"Nope." Quill's index finger came onto the orange screen, and his voice followed. "We're prisoners. Same as you."

"Peter?" Gamora's tone changed, her eyes fixed on the screen. "Are you- …"

"He's totally nuts, if that's what you're askin'." Rocket answered the unspoken question as the finger dropped. "But not like before."

"Hey!"

"That is good to hear. We have a cellmate who is completely mad, and so I am glad that Star-Lord is not." Drax smiled, ignoring the human's protest. "Now we can form a plan of escape and get back to the Milano!"

Groot wondered at their other cellmate, but decided it best not to ask.

"Yeah … about that …" Rocket was embarrassed; the great escaper of all prisons, and giant furry creatures had him trapped.

"The mole-dudes are _not_ letting us go anytime soon." Peter's finger wiggled its way back onscreen, and Gamora smiled fondly.

"Stupid frikkin' things are just sitting there waitin' for us if we try to leave-!" Rocket had just re-begun his rant from earlier when Groot cut him off.

"I think I could understand them."

It took another moment of ranting before Rocket trailed off, his gaze piercing into Groot. "What?"

"I think-"

"No, yeah, I heard you. Are you nuts _too_?!" Rocket's paws went flying up again (definitely a habit). "Ain't no way you'll understand them! Those things'll just rip ya apart or somethin'!"

"Ah, yes." Drax leaned forward. "Was your tail a great loss?"

"_What_?!"

"The _miners_ are the ones that shot off my arm." Groot pointed out. "What could the eaters do that's worse?"

"He still has a tail, Drax." Peter's hand was back, this time with a fistful of Rocket's tail.

"What, Groot?" Gamora looked up, the only one to pay attention to him.

"_Leggo-a me ya krutackin'-_!"

"Ah. If you retained all of your appendages, then why do you believe that they would tear the tree apart?" Drax's brow was furrowed.

"You _bit_ me!" Peter's head popped up, his hair mussed and his face indignant.

"Oh, _Peter_." Gamora frowned (presumably at his purple eyes).

"You can't just grab other people's-!"

"They wouldn't tear me apart. Rocket's just being stubborn." Groot baited.

"Yeah, well, you can't just bite other people, either." Peter muttered as he sucked on his hand.

"The totally _would_ tear you apart!" Rocket took the bait, swinging around to point at Groot. "They don't wanna talk!"

Gamora's frown turned into one of exasperation.

"If the creatures are nearby why do you not go and attempt speech now?" Drax tilted his head. "Groot can listen from the flower to determine whether or not they are understandable."

"What?" Rocket batted his tail into Peter's face as he turned, and the human glared.

"We already know that they won't hurt you." Gamora patiently explained. "So if you go and listen to the sounds while your flower is activated, maybe Groot will be able to understand them."

"Please?" Groot tacked on at the end, widening his eyes a little in Rocket's direction. The small bounty hunter had paused to think it over, and rolled his own eyes when he saw Groot's expression.

"Okay, but if you can't understand them, ain't no way you're comin' down here to try an' talk with 'em face to face."

"Fine." Groot's face split with a grin.

* * *

**I have so many apologies to make, I don't even know where to start. **

**… **

**Sorry. **

**I got SUPER unmotivated, and then I feel like a billion things happened (I joined another fandom on the side), and I had severe writer's block on this chapter. I finally forged my way through it yesterday, despite my own misgivings.**

**So yeah. I'm not the happiest about this chapter, and I'd LOVE to hear what you all think. **

**On the upside, this is a late B-day present for ThatSlyProcyon (from Ao3)! Thank you for your support! This chapter is dedicated to YOU. :) **


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